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THE  RELIGIONS  OF  EASTERN  ASIA 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK    •    BOSTON   •    CHICAGO 
ATLANTA   •    SAN   FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON    •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


« 


THE   RELIGIONS  OF 
EASTERN  ASIA 


BY 
HORACE  GRANT  UNDERWOOD,  D.D. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

1910 

A  a  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1910, 
By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.     Published  February,  1910. 


Wortoooli  53«gB 

J.  S.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


THE   CHARLES    F.    DEEMS    LECTURE- 
SHIP  OF    PHILOSOPHY 

New  York  University  accepted,  April  15,  1895, 
from  the  American  Institute  of  Christian  Philoso- 
phy an  endowment  of  Fifteen  Thousand  Dollars 
for  the  support  of  a  lectureship  to  be  called  the 
Charles  F.  Deems  Lectureship  of  Philosophy, 
under  the  following  rules  :  — 

The  University  agrees  to  maintain  said  lecture- 
ship by  securing  for  each  year,  or  each  alternate 
year,  a  Lecturer,  eminent  in  Science  and  Phi- 
losophy, who  shall  treat  in  not  less  than  six  lec- 
tures some  one  of  the  most  important  questions 
of  Science  and  Philosophy,  with  a  special  refer- 
ence to  its  relation  to  the  revealed  truths  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  to  the  fundamental  principles 
of  Theistic  Philosophy. 

The  Lecturer  shall  be  chosen  by  the  University's 
Committee  upon  the  Charles  F.  Deems  Lecture- 
ship, which  shall  consist  of  the  Chancellor  and 
two  members  of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Science 
and  two  members  of  the  University  Council,  to  be 
named  as  the  Council  may  direct.  The  subject 
for  each  course  of  lectures  shall  be  agreed  upon 
between  this  Committee  and  the  Lecturer. 

The  University  ^hall  provide,  free  of  charge,  a 


?.07i21 


THE   DEEMS   LECTURESHIP 

room  for  the  lectures,  and  shall,  at  its  own  expense, 
make  due  public  announcement  of  the  time  and 
place  of  each  lecture.  The  University  shall  also 
publish,  in  book  form,  each  series  of  lectures,  and 
put  the  same  on  sale  with  one  or  more  reputable 
book  firms,  provided  this  can  be  done  without  fur- 
ther expense  than  can  be  met  by  the  accumulation 
of  income  over  and  above  the  expense  of  main- 
taining the  annual  or  biennial  series  of  lectures. 

The  University's  Committee  at  present  is  consti- 
tuted as  follows :  Chancellor  MacCracken,  Dean 
Hering,  Professor  Stoddard,  Mr.  William  S.  Opdyke, 
and  Rev.  Dr.  George  Alexander. 

The  following  courses  upon  this  foundation  have 
been  given :  — 

I.  "  Theism  in  the  Light  of  Present  Science  and 
Philosophy,"  by  Professor  James  Iverach,  D.D., 
of  the  Free  Church  College,  Aberdeen,  Scotland. 

IL  "  Theism  "  by  Professor  Borden  P.  Bowne, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Boston  University. 

IIL  "The  Religion  of  Christ,"  by  Principal 
Fairbairn  of  Mansfield  College,  Oxford,  England 
[not  yet  published]. 

IV.  "  The  Religions  of  Eastern  Asia  "  by  Horace 
Underwood,  D.D.,  of  Seoul,  Korea. 

The  Fifth  Course  will  be  given  by  Professor 
Sir  William  Ramsay  of  Aberdeen  University,  Scot- 
land, on  "  The  Philosophy  of  Saint  Paul." 

For  a  copy  of  any  of  the  published  lectures, 
address,  New  York  University,  Washington  Square, 
N.Y. 


PREFATORIAL    NOTE 

Because  of  the  necessitated  presence  of  the 
author  on  his  chosen  and  fruitful  field  of  labor  in 
Korea,  it  became  necessary  for  some  one  nearer 
the  place  of  issue  to  see  his  work  through  the 
press,  and  for  that  task  the  undersigned  was  chosen. 
This  statement  is  made  that  the  author  may  not 
be  held  responsible  for  typographical  errors  or  for 
faults  which  have  occurred  in  the  printing.  The 
author's  text  has,  of  course,  been  preserved  intact 
except  in  a  few  passages  which,  though  probably 
sufficiently  clear  when  they  had  the  emphasis  and 
intonation  of  the  living  voice,  yet  required  in  the 
printed  form,  in  the  interests  of  perspicuity  and 
in  order  to  prevent  misunderstanding  and  miscon- 
struction, rearrangement  or  modification.  But  in 
no  case  has  the  sense  of  the  text  been  altered. 
The  index  was  supplied  by  the  undersigned. 

GEORGE   W.    GILMORE. 

New  York,  January  17, 1910. 


CONTENTS 

LECTURE  PAGE 

I.    Taoism i 

II.     Shintoism 41 

III.  The  Shamanism  of  Korea       ....  93 

IV.  Confucianism 143 

V.     Buddhism 183 

VI.     A  Comparison   of   the   Foregoing   Theisms 

WITH    that    of    the    OlD    AND    NEW    TESTA- 
MENTS            231 


Vll 


AUTHORITIES   CITED 

G.  W.  Aston,  "Shinto,"  London  and  New  York,  1905. 

S.  Beal,  "Buddhism  in  China,"  London,  1884. 

Isabella  B.  Bishop,  "Korea  and  her  Neighbours,"  London, 

1898. 
R.  K.  Douglas,  "Confucianism  and  Taouism," London,  1879 

(quoted  both  as  "Confucianism"  and  "Taouism"). 
E.  Faber,  "Mind  of  Mencius,"  Shanghai,  1882. 
H.  A.  Giles,  "China  and  the  Chinese,"  London,  1902;  and 

"History  of  Chinese  Literature,"  London,  1901. 
W.  E.  Griffis,  "Religions  of  Japan,"  New  York,  1895. 
S.  Gulick,  "  Evolution  of  the  Japanese,"  New  York,  1903. 
H.  B.  Hulbert,  "History  of  Korea,"  2  vols.,  London,  1906; 

and  "The  Passing  of  Korea,"  New  York,  1906. 
G.  W.   Knox,  "Development  of  Religion  in  Japan,"  New 

York,  1907. 
J.    LeggEj" Religions  of  China,"  London,  1881 ;  and  "Life 

and  Teachings  of  Confucius,"  London,  1887. 
W.  A.  P.  Martin,  "The  Chinese,"  New  York,  1881. 
T.  W.  Rhys  Davids,  "Buddhism,"  London,  1877. 


IX 


Religions  of  Eastern  Asia 


LECTURE   I 

Taoism 

It  is  the  purpose  of  these  lectures  to  study  the 
religions  and  practices  of  the  peoples  of  China, 
Japan,  and  Korea,  in  order  to  ascertain,  as  far  as 
possible,  what  conceptions  of  God  they  hold.  Having 
accomplished  this,  it  is  a  further  purpose  to  com- 
pare these  Eastern  ideas,  as  exemplified  in  the  writ- 
ings and  practices  of  these  peoples,  with  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  regarding  the  Deity. 

In  the  consideration  of  this  subject  it  has  seemed 
best  to  study  first  those  religions  that  may  in  a  pe- 
culiar way  be  classed  as  national,  and  seem  restricted 
to  one  or  other  of  these  three  nations,  —  the  Taoism 
of  China,  the  Shintoism  of  Japan,  and  the  Shaman- 
ism of  Korea.  We  will  then  turn  our  attention  to 
the  two  great  cults,  found  alike  in  all  three  countries, 
—  Buddhism  and  Confucianism ;  and  lastly  we  will 
contrast  the  theistic  conceptions  found  in  all  five 
with  those  that  have  been  given  us  in  the  Bible. 

First,  then,  let  us  consider  Taoism,  which  Dr.  Giles 

B  I 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

claims  to  be  the  only  Chinese  religion.  China,  he 
says,  is  popularly  supposed  to  have  three  religions, 
—  Confucianism,  Buddhism,  and  Taoism. 

"The  first  is  not,  and  never  has  been,  a  religion, 
being  nothing  more  than  a  system  of  social  and  po- 
litical morality;  the  second  is  indeed  a  religion,  but 
an  alien  religion ;  only  the  last,  and  the  least  known, 
is  of  native  growth."  * 

We,  however,  at  least  for  the  time,  accede  to  the 
native  claim  that  there  are  in  China  the  three  reli- 
gions mentioned,  and  in  a  subsequent  lecture  will 
discuss  the  question  whether  Confucianism  has  a 
rightful  claim  to  be  so  defined.  Of  these  three,  two 
only  are  indigenous  to  the  soil;  but  a  question 
arises  which  of  the  two  has  the  priority. 

Dr.  Legge  claims  this  most  emphatically  for 
Confucianism.  Acknowledging  that  Lao-tsze  was  a 
contemporary  of  Confucius,  though  several  years  his 
senior,  he  (Dr.  Legge)  asserts  that  while  he  was 
able  to  trace  Confucianism  back  into  prehistoric 
times,  "Taoism  did  not  exist  as  a  religion  until  a 
considerable  time  after  the  commencement  of  our 
Christian  era."  ^ 

Yet,  when  discussing  the  doctrines  of  Confucius 
and  rightly  urging  us  not  to  misjudge  that  great 
sage's   work,   he   adds,   "We    receive    a    different 

*  "China  and  the  Chinese,"  p.  143. 

2  "The  Religions  of  China,"  p.  164. 

2 


TAOISM 

impression  from  it  when  we  know  what  the  latent 
Taoism  of  his  day  was;"^  clearly  confessing  that  a 
Taoism  existed  even  in  the  times  of  Confucius.  Cer- 
tainly it  was  not  systematized  nor  formally  acknowl- 
edged as  a  distinct  religion,  yet  its  tenets  were  in 
vogue,  and  its  votaries  were  many,  and  it  was,  in  fact, 
as  a  protest  against  the  tendency  Taoism-ward  that 
Confucius  drew  up  his  code.  Disgusted  with  the 
animism,  the  spiritism,  the  invention  and  multipli- 
cation of  deities  and  spirits  for  every  want  and  desire 
of  man,  and  beholding  how  even  the  primitive  faith 
of  the  nation  had  been  twisted  to  such  degrading 
polytheism  and  fetichism,  —  Confucius  went  to  the 
very  opposite  extreme,  calling  upon  all  men  to  be 
concerned  only  with  the  great  present-day  realities 
of  life. 

Both  Lao-tsze  and  Confucius  made  use  of  the  con- 
ceptions and  practices  which  they  found  already  in 
existence;  and  Confucianism  and  Taoism  are  both 
alike  developments  of  something  prior  to  either. 
Confucius  himself  distinctly  claims  that  he  is  not  an 
originator;  that  he  has  received  no  revelations;  that 
he  is,  in  a  word,  simply  an  editor.  He  attempts 
only  to  tell  the  story  of  what  preceded  him,  and  to 
build  up  a  system  of  rules  concerned  not  so  much 
with  the  past  or  the  future  of  the  individual  as  with 
the  present.  *Lao-tsze,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  phi- 

*  "The  Religions  of  China,"  p.  178. 

3 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

losopher  of  no  mean  order,  worthy  indeed  of  later 

days   and  more  literary  times.     How  the  present- 

(      day  Taoism  has  arisen  from  the  writings  and  teach- 

<^    ings  of  this  philosopher,  is  indeed  hard  to  see.     It 

\     is  necessary,  therefore,  to  recognize,  when  we  use 

'    the  term  "^aoism,"  that  it  represents  two  distinct i 

things,  —  a   philosophy    and    a   religion ;     both    o^ 

which  it  behooves  us  carefully  to  consider.     Bu( 

before  undertaking  this  let  us  first  try  to  ascertain 

its  antecedents. 

In  the  study  of  the  primitive  faith  of  any  country 
or  people  the  great  difficulty  is  that  we  are  trying 
to  learn  that  which  existed  long  prior  to  the  inven- 
tion of  letters,  and,  consequently,  prior  to  the  pos- 
sibility of  any  reliable  records.  When,  however, 
there  have  arisen  historians  who  were  desirous  of 
preparing  such,  and  of  giving  to  posterity  a  genuine 
and  true  account  of  the  conditions  in  those  primi- 
tive times,  they  have  generally  been  men  who  have 
already  formed  their  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  ' 
incorrect  and  correct,  and  their  record  of  such  times 
is  more  or  less  colored  by  the  peculiar  views  they 
themselves  hold.  In  fact,  in  many  cases  the  re- 
searches were  made  with  a  view  to  upholding  their 
own  peculiar  tenets. 

In  an  ideographic  language  Hke  the  Chinese, 
however,  where  characters  represent  not  specified 
sounds  but  specific  ideas,  and  where  in  a  regular 

4 


TAOISM 

and,  to  a  certain  extent,  systematic  manner  the  more 
complex  thoughts  are  expressed  and  characters 
built  up  from  certain  primitives,  we  can  perhaps 
learn  more  of  the  earliest  concepts  and  beliefs  of  a 
people  from  philological  studies,  than  in  countries 
using  alphabets  which  merely  stand  for  certain 
sounds. 

Dr.  Legge,  one  of  the  ablest  of  sinologues,  in  a 
careful  study  of  this  question,  asserts  positively 
that  it  is  here  we  may  expect  to  find  the  real  key  to 
Chinese  primitive  ideas.  We  have,  he  asserts,  in 
the  primitive  characters,  the  Chinese  roots,  "the 
pictures  and  ideograms  which  exhibit  to  the  student 
by  the  eye  the  ideas  in  the  mind  of  the  maker.  .  .  . 
We  thus  learn  their  meaning  without  reference  to 
the  names  by  which  they  have  been  called."  ^  He 
then  proceeds  to  analyze  carefully  the  ideas  in  a 
number  of  such  primitives. 

We  have  not  time  to  review  all  of  these.  Suffice 
it  for  our  purpose  to  consider  but  two,  —  the  char- 
acters "  T'ien,"  the  symbol  for  the  heavens,  and  "  Ti," 
meaning  ruler  or  governor.  "T'ien "  is  compounded 
of  two  radicals,  the  one  signifying  "unity"  and  the 
other  "greatness";  and  does  it  not  give  us  at  once 
the  idea  of  "the  One  Great  Being,"  the  Great  One  ? 
This  word  applied,  and  still  applies,  to  the  heavens, 
though  not  simply  to  the  physical  heavens,  but  to 

^  "The  Religions  of  China,"  p.  7. 
5 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

the  heavens  as  Providence,  ruHng  and  controlling 
the  destiny  of  the  world  and  of  man. 

The  second  primitive  is  the  character  ''Ti"  or 
"Tei,"  "Ruler"  or  "Governor,"  which,  with  the 
added  character  "  Sang, "  "  upper,"  "  top, "  has  every- 
where the  meaning  of  Supreme  Ruler,  and  is  re- 
stricted in  its  use  to  the  One  Supreme  Ruler  of  the 
Universe. 

Dr.  Legge  asserts  that  "since  its  earliest  forma- 
tion 'Ti'  has  properly  been  the  personal  name  of 
Heaven.  'T'ien'  has  had  much  of  the  force  of 
the  name  'Jahve'  as  explained  by  God  Himself 
to  Moses.  'Ti'  has  presented  that  absolute  deity 
in  the  relation  to  men  of  the  Lord  and  Governor. 
'Ti'  was  to  the  Chinese  fathers,  I  beHeve,"  says 
he,  "  exactly  what  God  was  to  our  fathers  whenever 
they  took  the  great  name  on  their  lips."  ^ 

While  it  is  objected  that  this  same  character  is 
applied  to  the  ruling  monarch  of  China,  in  the  term 
"Hwang  Ti,"  or  Emperor,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  this  use  is  comparatively  new,  and  was  not 
adopted  till  after  the  posthumous  deification  of 
several  of  the  previous  emperors.  A  new  emperor 
had  come  to  the  throne;  he  had  seized  the  power, 
and  had  established  a  new  dynasty,  and  in  order 
that  he  might  appear  equal  to  the  sovereigns  who 
had  preceded  him,  he  adopted  the  title  which  had 

1  "The  Religions  of  China,"  p.  lo. 

6 


TAOISM 

been  given  to  the  previous  emperors  after  deifica- 
tion. This,  however,  was  not  until  after  the  year 
221  B.C.,  and  in  no  way  affects  the  use  of  the  terra 
twenty  centuries  previous. 

Entering  carefully  into  a  further  consideration 
of  a  number  of  these  ideographs  that  bear  upon  our 
general  subject,  but  for  which  we  have  not  time  in 
this  place,  he  carefully  differentiates  between  the 
Chinese  ideas  of  God,  "Ti,"  and  spirit,  and  man 
in  this  life  and  after  death  as  shown  in  the  very 
writings  of  the  language. 

The  force  of  an  argument  of  this  kind  is  very 
much  augmented  when  it  is  remembered  that  in 
the  making  of  these  ideographs  it  is  very  evident 
that  the  originators  were  not  trying  to  write  a  re- 
ligious treatise,  but  simply  preparing  a  medium  for 
recording  the  entire  thought  and  life  of  a  nation. 

Concluding  his  philological  argument.  Dr.  Legge 
says:  "Five  thousand  years  ago  the  Chinese  were  ^ 
monotheists, — not  henotheists,  but  monotheists, —  ' 
and  this  monotheism  was  in  danger  of  being  cor- 
rupted, we  have  seen,  by  nature  worship,  on  one 
hand,  and  by  a  system  of  superstitious  divination,  on 
the  other."  ^ 

Before  we  go  any  farther,  it  will  be  well  for  us 
to  define  clearly  the  special  use  of  certain  terms  in 
these  lectures.    First,  as  to  the  word  "monotheism." 

^  "The  Religions  of  China,"  p.  i6. 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

It  is  my  desire  to  limit  its  use  to  that  strict  meaning 
which  excludes  all  other  gods.  The  usage  of  some 
writers,  sanctioned  by  the  best  lexicographers,  is  to 
denote  by  monotheism  the  worship  of  a  nation  or 
people  which  reverences  but  one  god  even  while 
allowing  that  other  deities  exist.  It  is  our  purpose 
in  these  lectures  rather  to  use  the  term  as  excluding 
the  possibility  of  the  existence  of  all  other  gods,  and 
to  use  the  word  "monolatry"  to  represent  the  exclu- 
sive worship  of  but  one  idol,  or  the  worship  of  but 
one  god,  by  a  tribe  or  nation  as  its  special  deity, 
whether  that  god  be  an  idol  or  a  spirit.  Henotheism 
will  represent  the  idea  of  one  supreme  god,  consid- 
ered as  supreme  among  many,  and  as  controlling 
the  actions  of  the  lesser  deities.^ 

Looking  now  into  the  records  of  Chinese  history, 
we  find  that  in  the  earliest  times  prayers  were  ad- 
dressed to  "Sang  Ti"  as  the  one  God;  the  em- 
perors on  ascending  to  the  throne  announced  their 
ascension  to  Sang  Ti  and  prayed  his  protection 
and  help;    and  while  there  were,  it  is  true,  other 

*  "But  the  highest  object  of  worship  among  the  ancient  Chinese 
was  Shang-te,  who  approached  nearer  to  the  idea  of  the  Hebrew 
God  than  any  of  their  divinities.  Heaven  was  high  and  great, 
but  Shang-te  ruled  both  heaven  and  earth.  It  was  by  his  favor 
that  sovereigns  ruled  and  nations  prospered,  and  it  was  at  his 
decree  that  thrones  were  upset  and  kingdoms  were  brought  to 
naught.  As  an  earthly  sovereign  rules  over  a  kingdom,  so  Shang-te 
lords  it  over  the  azure  heaven."  —  Douglas,  "Confucianism," 
p.  82. 

8 


TAOISM 

spirits  and  lesser  deities,  these  were  in  the  main  but 

subjects  of  Sang  Ti,  working  under  his  direction 

and  carrying  out  his  biddings.*    To  Sang  Ti  praise 

was  offered,  and  it  is  asserted  that  odes  of  praise 

were  first  composed  for  this  purpose.     Such  lines 

as:  — 

"  Great  is  God  ["  Ti  "], 

Ruling  in  majesty ;  " 
or 

"  How  mighty  is  God  ["  Ti  "], 
The  Ruler  of  Mankind; 
How  terrible  is  his  majesty !  "  * 

manifest  certainly  an  idea  as  to  his  supreme  power 
and  controlling  hand.  He  is  holy,  and  cannot  look 
upon  sin.  The  very  need,  as  seen  in  the  ablutions 
made  before  sacrifices,   of  cleanliness  of  body   at 

'"On  the  death  of  Yaou,  Shun,  who  had  shared  his  throne 
for  some  years,  succeeded  as  sole  emperor.  Like  his  predecessor, 
he  was  '  profound, '  wise,  accomplished,  and  intelligent.  He  was 
mild,  respectful,  and  quite  sincere.  The  report  of  his  mysterious 
virtue  was  heard  on  high,  and  he  was  appointed  to  take  the  throne. 
One  of  his  first  public  acts,  after  having  still  further  perfected  the 
astronomical  calculations  of  Yaou,  was  to  sacrifice  to  Shang-te, 
the  Supreme  Ruler  or  God.  'Thereafter,'  we  are  told,  'he  sacri- 
ficed specially,  but  with  the  ordinary  forms,  to  Shang-te :  sacrificed 
with  purity  and  reverence  to  the  six  honored  Ones:  offered  ap- 
propriate sacrifices  to  the  hills  and  rivers :  and  extended  his  wor- 
ship to  the  host  of  spirits.'  This  is  the  first  mention  we  have  in 
Chinese  history  of  religious  worship,  though  the  expressions  used 
plainly  imply  that  the  worship  of  Shang-te  at  least  had  previously 
existed.  It  is  to  this  Supreme  Being  that  all  the  highest  forms 
of  adoration  have  been  offered  in  all  ages."  —  Douglas,  "Con- 
fucianism," p.  II. 

^  Giles's  translation  in  "  Chinese  Literature." 

9 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

such  a  time,  shows  most  plainly  the  great  need  of 
cleanliness  of  soul,  and  the  very  use  of  sacrifices 
shows  that  he  must  be  appeased  by  guilty  men. 
From  the  oldest  times  we  have  evidence  of  such 
sacrifices;  and  although  we  have  no  exact  account 
of  the  ritual,  there  are  sufficient  hints  to  show  that 
the  greatest  care  and  circumspection  were  used. 

Can  we  not  with  reverence  and  admiration  con- 
template the  Chinese  emperor  offering  up  the  fol- 
lowing prayer: — 

"Of  old,  in  the  beginning,  there  was  the  great 
chaos,  without  form  and  dark.  The  five  elements 
had  not  begun  to  revolve,  nor  the  sun  and  moon  to 
shine.  In  the  midst  thereof  there  presented  itself 
neither  form  nor  sound.  Thou,  O  Spiritual  Sov- 
ereign, camest  forth  in  thy  presidency,  and  first 
didst  divide  the  grosser  parts  from  the  purer.  Thou 
mad'st  heaven,  thou  mad'st  earth,  thou  mad'st 
man.  All  things  got  their  being,  with  their  repro- 
ducing power. 

"  Oh,  Ti,  when  thou  hadst  opened  the  course  for 
the  inactive  and  active  forces  of  matter  to  operate, 
thy  making  work  went  on.  Thou  didst  produce, 
O  Spirit,  the  sun  and  moon,  and  five  planets;  and 
pure  and  beautiful  was  their  delight.  The  vault  of 
heaven  was  spread  out  like  a  curtain,  and  the 
square  earth  supported  all  on  it,  and  all  creatures 

lO 


TAOISM 

were  happy.     I,  thy  servant,  presume  reverently  to 
thank  thee. 

"All  the  numerous  tribes  of  animated  beings  are 
indebted  to  thy  favor  for  their  beginning.  Men 
and  creatures  are  emparadised,  O  Ti,  in  thy  love. 
All  living  things  are  indebted  to  thy  goodness,  but 
who  knows  whence  his  blessings  come  to  him?  It 
is  thou  alone,  O  Lord,  who  art  the  true  parent  of 
all  things."  ' 

Certainly  this  is  not  unlike  what  we  might  have 
expected  from  one  of  the  patriarchs  or  prophets. 
The  question,  of  course,  naturally  arises.  Was  this 
pure  monotheism,  or  was  it  henotheism  or  simply 
monolatry  ? 

The  very  fact  that  as  their  supreme  ruler  they 
had  taken  the  universal  heavens,  it  has  been  said, 
would  at  once  settle  that  it  was  not  monolatry;  but 
a  careful  consideration  will  show  that  this  would 
hardly  be  warranted,  for  if  they,  of  all  the  forces  of 
nature,  had  picked  out  the  heavens  as  their  special 
deity,  allowing  other  nations  to  choose  diflferently, 
would  not  this  have  been  pure  monolatry  and  not 
monotheism?  The  words  of  the  prayer,  however, 
when  carefully  studied,  show  most  clearly  that  to 
the  worshipper  it  was  not  as  to  a  mere  national  God, 
a  God  of  the  Chinese,  —  an  ethnic  deity,  —  but  to  a 

*  Legge,  "Religions  of  China,"  pp.  46,  47,  49. 
II 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN  ASIA 

God  of  the  whole  universe.  "Thou  mad'st  heaven, 
thou  mad'st  earth,  thou  mad'st  man.  All  things 
got  their  being,  with  their  reproducing  power  "  — 
could  hardly  be  words  addressed  to  any  mere  ethnic 
deity. 

We  are  therefore  left  to  consider  whether  it  was 
monotheistic,  or  henotheistic.  The  universal  ver- 
dict that  lesser  deities  were  worshipped,  that  nature- 
worship  existed  at  almost  the  earliest  dates,  that  at  no 
time  are  we  sure  that  these  lesser  deities  were  not  ac- 
knowledged, —  all  point  to  a  henotheism  rather  than 
a  monotheism;  and  yet  a  minute  study  of  Dr.  Legge's 
philological  arguments,  added  to  his  statements  of 
the  ancient  practices  in  regard  to  the  worship  of 
these  spirits,  lends  considerable  weight  to  his  theory 
that  the  primitive  Chinese  were  true  monotheists. 

While  in  the  following  quotation  he  is  not  con- 
trasting monotheism  and  henotheism,  but  rather 
opposing  the  theory  so  often  advanced,  that  the 
religion  of  old  China  was  pure  animism  and  spirit- 
ism, yet  his  argument  is  so  apropos  that  we  cannot 
do  better  than  quote  him  at  considerable  length. 
He  says :  — 

"What  religion,  it  may  be  asked,  is  not  animistic 
in  the  sense  that  its  objects  of  worship  are  regarded 
as  spirits?  But  it  is  not  merely  because  they  are 
spirits  that  they  are  worshipped,  but  because  of  the 

12 


TAOISM 

relation  that  they  are  supposed  to  sustain  to  the 
worshippers,  and  to  the  Supreme  Spirit,  or  God.  If 
the  old  Chinese  religion  were  only  animism,  whence 
came  it  to  have,  as  far  back  as  we  can  go,  Ti,  or  God, 
as  the  one  supreme  object  of  its  homage?  And  as 
to  the  other  spirits,  to  whom  at  an  early  period  an 
inferior  worship  was  paid,  and  who,  it  is  said,  were 
closely  connected  with  the  objects  of  nature,  they 
were  worshipped  as  doing  service  to  men  on  behalf 
of  God.  In  default  of  prayers  or  hymns  of  a  date 
anterior  to  our  era  addressed  to  such  spirits,  we  may 
accept,  as  representing  faithfully  the  ancient  tradi- 
tion, the  following  prayers  to  the  heavenly  and  earthly 
spirits,  selected  from  the  'Statutes  of  the  Ming 
Dynasty  (1368-1642).'  To  the  heavenly  spirits, 
'the  spirits  of  the  Cloud-master,  the  Rain-master, 
the  Lord  of  the  Winds,  and  the  Thunder-master,' 
it  is  said,  '  It  is  your  office,  O  Spirits,  to  superintend 
the  clouds  and  the  rain,  and  to  raise  and  send  abroad 
the  winds,  as  ministers  assisting  Shang  Ti.  All 
the  people  enjoy  the  benefits  of  your  service.' 
Again,  to  the  earthly  spirits,  — '  the  spirits  of  the 
mountains  and  hills,  of  the  four  seas  and  four  great 
rivers,  of  the  imperial  domain,  and  of  all  the  hills 
and  rivers  under  the  sky,'  — it  is  said,  'It  is  yours, 
O  Spirits,  with  your  Heaven-conferred  powers,  and 
nurturing  influences,  each  to  preside  as  guardian 
over  one  district,  as  ministers  assisting    the  great 

13 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Worker  and  Transformer,  and  thus  the  people  en- 
joy your  meritorious  services.'  "  ^ 

Dr.  Legge's  contention  is  that  the  spirits  and 
what  have  sometimes  been  called  "lesser  deities" 
were  not  looked  upon  by  the  Chinese  in  the  earliest 
days  as  deities  in  any  sense  of  the  word,  but  rather 
as  ministering  spirits  sent  forth  to  do  the  will  of 
Sang  Ti.  Not  only  does  he  call  special  attention 
to  the  fact  that  these  spirits  were  never  called  "Ti," 
but  in  his  discussion  of  the  primitive  characters 
which  may  be  read  in  his  book  on  the  "Religions 
of  China,"  he  draws  a  very  clear  distinction  between 
the  terms  applied  to  these  spirits  and  that  applied 
to  God  and  gods.  It  ,  seems,  then,  as  though  at 
first  these  spirits  were  rather  agents,  ministers, 
servants  of  the  one  Supreme  God,  and  were  so  re- 
garded by  the  Chinese  in  primitive  times. 

On  this  same  subject  let  me  quote  froni  Dr.  Mar- 
tin, of  Pekin :  — 

"The  writings,  and  the  institutions  of  the  Chinese 
are  not  like  those  of  the  Hindoos  and  the  Hebrews, 
pervaded  with  the  idea  of  God.  It  is,  nevertheless, 
expressed  in  their  ancient  books  with  so  much 
clearness  as  to  make  us  wonder  and  lament  that  it 
has  left  so  faint  an  impression  on  the  national  mind. 

*  "The  Religions  of  China,"  p.  18-19. 
14 


TAOISM 

"In  their  books  of  history  it  was  recorded  that 
music  was  invented  for  the  praise  of  'Shangte.' 
Rival  claimants  for  the  throne  appeal  to  the  judg- 
ment of  'Shangte.'  He  is  the  arbiter  of  nations, 
and  while  actuated  by  benevolence,  is  yet  capable 
of  being  provoked  to  wrath  by  the  iniquities  of  men. 
In  the  Book  of  Changes  he  is  represented  as  restor- 
ing life  to  torpid  nature  on  the  return  of  spring.  In 
the  Book  of  Rites  it  is  said  that  the  ancients  prayed 
for  grain  to  'Shangte'  and  presented  in  offering  a 
bullock,  which  must  be  without  blemish  and  stall- 
fed  for  three  months  before  the  day  of  sacrifice.  In 
the  Book  of  Odes,  mostly  composed  from  eight  hun- 
dred to  a  thousand  years  before  the  Christian  era, 
and  containing  fragments  of  still  higher  antiquity, 
Shangte  is  represented  as  seated  on  a  lofty  throne, 
while  the  spirits  of  the  good  'walk  up  and  down 
on  his  right  and  left.' 

"In  none  of  these  writings  is  Shangte  clothed  in 
the  human  form  or  debased  by  human  passion  like 
the  Zeus  of  the  Greeks.  There  is  in  them  even  less 
of  anthropomorphism  than  we  find  in  the  repre- 
sentations of  Jehovah  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 
Educated  Chinese,  on  embracing  Christianity,  assert 
that  the  Shangte  of  their  fathers  was  identical  with 
the  Tienchu,  the  Lord  of  Heavens,  whom  they  are 
taught  to  worship.  .  .  , 

"Whence  came  this  conception?  Was  it  the 
15 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

mature  result  of  ages  of  speculation,  or  was  it  brought 
down  from  remote  antiquity  on  the  stream  of  patri- 
archal tradition?  The  latter,  we  think,  is  the  only 
probable  hypothesis.  In  the  earlier  books  of  the 
Chinese  there  is  no  trace  of  speculative  inquiry. 
They  raise  no  question  as  to  the  nature  of  Shangte, 
or  the  grounds  of  their  faith  in  such  a  being,  but  in 
their  first  pages  allude  to  him  as  already  well  known, 
and  speak  of  burnt  offerings  made  to  him  on  moun- 
tain tops  as  an  established  rite.  Indeed,  the  idea 
of  Shangte,  when  it  first  meets  us,  i§  not  in  the  ^o- 
cess-of  development,  but  already  in  the  first  stages 
of  decay."  ^ 

Certainly,  then,  it  seems  that  in  all  probability 
Dr.  Legge  was  right  in  his  conclusion  quoted  above, 
and  that  in  the  earliest  days  the  Chinese  were  mono- 
theists.  But  by  the  time  of  Confucius  and  Lao-tsze 
they  had  already  fallen  far  from  this,  and  it  was  the 
condition  at  this  and  later  times  that  has  led  so 
many  to  avow  that  the  original  faith  of  China  was  a 
pure  animism  or  spiritism. 

It  seems  clear  that  at  first  they  began  to  pay  special 
heed  to  natural  phenomena,  as  the  acts  of  Sang  Ti, 
then  to  look  upon  them  as  agents  of  a  Supreme  God, 
and  later  as  deities  who  themselves  performed  within 
their  own  sphere.  ^ 

*  "The  Chinese,"  pp.  loo-ioi. 

i6 


TAOISM 

Thus,  soon  the  stars  and  planets,  the  spirits  of 
hills  and  mountain  streams,  were  all  admitted  to 
their  pantheon.  Exorcists  arose  who  claimed  to 
have  power  with,  and  even  over,  some  of  these 
deities,  and  the  pure  worship  of  the  one  God  gave 
place  to  the  grossest  superstitions. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Confucius  and 
Lao-tsze  came  upon  the  stage;  this  was  the  "latent 
Taoism"  they  found,  and  these  the  antecedents  of. 
present-day  Taoism.  * 

•Let  us  now  consider  as  concisely  as  possible 

The  Philosophy  of  Taoism 

in  order  that  we  may  be  in  a  position  to  consider  more 
thoroughly  the  present-day  religion  known  by  that 
name. 

The  founder  of  Taoism,  upon  whose  book,  the 
Tao-Teh-King,  this  philosophy  is  based,  is  by  all 
acknowledged  to  be  Lao-tsze.  Of  this  man  we  know 
but  little.  The  fragments  that  tell  of  his  life  are 
very  meagre,  and  the  authenticity  of  most  of  these 
is  questioned  by  modern  scholars.  Later  Chinese 
writers,  and  so-called  historians,  have  added  many 
"facts,"  but  these  are  so  evidently  legendary  and  find 
so  little  authority  in  the  most  ancient  records  that 
they  must  be  rejected. 

A  circumstantial  account  of  his  life,  then,  we  can- 
c  17 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

not  give ;  but  he  is  said  to  have  first  seen  light  in  the 
year  604  B.C.  in  the  province  of  Honan.  Legend 
avers  that  the  period  of  gestation  was  eighty  years, 
and  that  when  born,  he  had  white  hair  and  beard 
and  wrinkled  face.  His  name  signifies  "Old  Boy," 
but  the  word  here  translated  "boy"  does  not  nec- 
essarily mean  a  boy  in  years,  and  the  name  may 
easily  have  been  bestowed  upon  him  when  an  old 
man,  and  itself  given  rise  later  to  such  legends. 
Many  assert  that  the  aged  philosopher  was  visited 
by  Confucius;  and  references  are  found  to  such  a 
visit  in  the  Confucian  books,  but  others  insist  that 
these  references  are  interpolations  and  spurious. 

We  must  not  forget  that  war  had  raged  between 
Taoism  and  Confucianism,  that  it  had  been  intensely 
bitter,  that  the  attempt  had  been  made  to  burn  all 
the  books  of  Confucius  and  to  destroy  all  his  fol- 
lowers, and  that  as  these  represented  the  real  literary 
scholarship  of  the  land,  they  may  have  succeeded 
farther  than  we  think  in  first  cutting  away  the 
very  foundations  of  Taoism,  after  that  asserting 
that  these  foundations  never  existed.  The  con- 
tradictions of  the  best  philosophers  can  be  seen  by 
the  following. 

Professor  Douglas  says :  — 

"All  authorities  agree,  however,  that  it  was  while 
Lao-tsze  held  this  post  at  the  court  of  Cho,  that, 

18 


TAOISM 

like  another  Aristotle,  Confucius  visited  the  Chinese 
Socrates."  ^ 

And  yet  Professor  Giles  in  his  work  says,  quoting 
from  the  Chuang-Tzu :  — 

"In  his  work  will  now  be  found  an  account  of  the 
meeting  of  Confucius  and  Lao-tsze,  but  it  has  long 
since  been  laughed  out  of  court  as  a  pious  fraud  by 
every  competent  Chinese  critic."  And  he  also  adds, 
"It  must  now  be  stated  that  throughout  what  was 
generally  beheved  to  be  the  writings  of  Confucius, 
the  name  of  Lao-tsze  is  never  once  mentioned."  ^ 

The  great  bulk  of  Chinese  scholars  agree  with 
Douglas,  and  unless  Professor  Giles  has  discovered 
new  facts  on  which  to  base  his  assertion,  the  verdict 
of  the  majority,  it  seems,  should  hold.  All  agree, 
however,  that  the  data  are  very  meagre,  and  with  the 
exception  of  Dr.  Giles  (as  far  as  the  writer  has  up 
to  date  been  able  to  ascertain)  all  accept  the  Tao- 
Teh-King  as  the  work  of  Lao-tsze.  Dr.  Giles  alone 
rejects  it,  asserting  that  there  is  very  Httle  in  the  whole 
book  that  is  the  work  of  the  philosopher  himself. 
In  his  discussion  of  Taoism  in  another  book,  speak- 
ing on  this  point,  he  says :  — 

"Before  proceeding  with  our  examination  of  Tao, 
it  is  desirable  to  show  why  this  work  [the  Tao-Teh- 

^  "Confucianism  and  Taouism,"  p.  178. 
'"Chinese  Literature,"  p.  58. 

19 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

King]  may  safely  be  regarded  as  a  forgery  of  a  later 
age.  Attempts  have  been  made,  by  the  simple  pro- 
cess of  interpolation,  in  classical  texts  to  prove  that 
Lao-tsze  lived  in  the  same  century  as  that  in  which 
Confucius  was  born ;  and  also  that,  when  the  former 
was  a  very  old  man,  the  two  sages  met;  and  further 
that  the  interviews  ended  very  much  to  the  aston- 
ishment of  Confucius." 

Again  he  says:  "Now,  in  all  the  works  of  Con- 
fucius, whether  as  writer  or  as  editor,  and  through- 
out all  his  posthumously  published  discourses, 
there  is  not  a  single  word  of  allusion  either  to  Lao- 
tsze  or  to  this  treatise.  The  alleged  interviews  have 
been  left  altogether  unnoticed.  .  .  . 

"One  hundred  years  after  Confucius  came  Men- 
cius,  China's  second  sage.  In  all  his  pages  of  po- 
litical advice  to  feudal  nobles,  and  in  all  his  con- 
versations with  his  disciples,  much  more  voluminous 
than  the  Discourses  of  Confucius,  there  is  equally 
no  allusion  to  Lao-tsze,  nor  to  the  treatise.  .  .  . 

"It  has  been  pointed  out  by  an  eminent  Chinese 
critic  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  that 
Mencius  spent  his  life  chiefly  in  attacking  the  vari- 
ous heterodox  systems  which  then  prevailed,  such  as 
the  extreme  altruistic  system  of  Mo  Ti  and  the  ex- 
treme egoistic  system  of  Yang  Chu;  and  it  is  urged 
—  in  my  opinion  with  overwhelming  force  —  that  if 
the  Tao-Te-Ching  had  existed  in  the  days  of  Men- 

20 


TAOISM 

cius,  it  must  have  necessarily  been  recognized  and 
treated  as  a  mischievous  work,  likely  to  alienate 
men's  minds  from  the  one  perfect  and  orthodox 
teaching  —  Confucianism."  ^ 

These  are  by  no  means  all  the  arguments  that  are 
offered,  but  they  are  the  first  and  main  points,  and 
are  upheld  by  a  number  of  references  to  books,  all 
of  which,  he  claims,  go  conclusively  to  prove  that  the 
work  Tao-Teh-King,  or  Ching,  —  as  he  calls  it,  — 
was  entirely  of  later  origin,  and  was,  in  fact,  almost 
a  modern  book.  He  does,  however,  pick  out  a  few 
examples  of  what  he  claims  are  the  genuine  words  of 
the  philosopher,  but  by  what  rule  he  acknowledges 
these  and  discards  others  it  is  hard  to  decide. 

It  is  upon  this  alleged  great  work  of  Lao-tsze 
that  the  whole  philosophy  of  Taoism  has  been  built ; 
but  it  has  been  enlarged  and  commented  upon  by 
later  writers,  all  of  which  comments  are  avowedly 
based  upon  the  Tao-Teh-King.  The  book  contains 
only  five  thousand  characters,  and  is  consequently 
only  about  twice  as  long  as  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
A  great  deal  of  it  is  puzzling  in  the  extreme,  and  it 
is  only  as  commentators  have  enlarged  upon  and 
interpreted  this  book  that  it  has  become  in  any 
marked  degree  intelligible. 

Its  main  object  is  the  Tao,  which  was  originally 

^  "China  and  the  Chinese,"  pp,  146-148. 
21 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

translated  by  "reason,"  and  therefore  Taoists  were 
erroneously  considered  rationalists.  A  few  of  his 
statements  as  to  what  this  Tao  is,  will  illustrate  the 
difficulty  of  comprehending  it.  Referring  to  it, 
Lao-tsze  says:  "Those  who  know,  do  not  tell;  those 
who  tell,  do  not  know."  Again,  "  Just  as  without 
going  out  of  doors  we  can  know  the  whole  world,  so 
without  looking  out  of  the  window  we  can  know  the 
Tao."  Again,  "Without  moving  you  shall  know; 
without  looking  you  shall  see;  without  doing  you 
shall  achieve.  .  .  .  Do  nothing,  and  all  things  will 
be  done.  .  .  .  The  Spirit  of  the  Valley  never  dies ; 
this  spirit  I  call  the  abyss  mother,  the  passage  of  the 
abyss  mother,  I  call  the  note  of  Heaven  and  Earth 
ceaselessly;  it  seems  to  endure,  and  it  is  employed 
without  effort." 
»    This  Tao  means  literally  a  "way,"   sometimes 

*has  been  translated  "method,"  sometimes  "reason," 
and  in  the  Taoist  philosophy  Tao  represents  the 
'"  absolute, "  a  sort  of  principle  from  which  all  things 

^*have  their  being,  and  which  controls  all  things. 
.  Speaking  of  the  subjects  here  broached,  Mr.  Wat- 
ters,  an  eminent  British  authority,  justly  remarks: 
"Even  when  discussed  in  a  clear  and  plain  style 
and  with  a  rich  language,  they  are  found  to  be  diffi- 
cult of  elucidation,  and  how  much  more  so  must 
they  be  when  discussed  in  short  enigmatical  sen- 
tences?   Lao-tsze,  like  all  other  philosophers  who 

22 


TAOISM 

live  and  write  in  the  infancy  of  a  literary  language, 
had  only  a  very  imperfect  medium  through  which 
to  communicate  his  doctrines.  The  language  of 
his  time  was  rude  and  imperfect,  utterly  unfit  to 
express  the  deep  thoughts  of  a  meditative  mind; 
and  hence  it  could  at  best  but  'half  reveal  and  half 
conceal  the  soul  within.'  " 

The  difficulties,  therefore,  of  arriving  at  a  true 
conception  of  the  real  philosophy  of  Lao-tsze  are 
almost  insurmountable,  and  were  it  not  for  the 
fuller  and  clearer  explanations  of  later  writers  and 
disciples,  we  should  be  at  an  entire  loss. 

We  cannot,  in  the  limits  of  these  lectures,  discuss 
the  entire  system  of  this  philosophy.  The  main 
question  which  concerns  our  subject  is.  What  are 
its  teachings  with  regard  to  God  ?  Here,  again,  we 
are  in  difficulties  from  the  very  indefiniteness  of  the 
treatise  and  the  terseness  of  the  phrases.  Professor 
Douglas  says :  i^  Of  a  personal  God,  Lao-tsze  knew 
nothing,  as  far  as  we  may  judge  from  the  Tao-Teh- 
King,  and  indeed  a  belief  in  such  a  being  would  be 
in  opposition  to  the  whole  tenor  of  his  philosophy. 
•There  is  no  room  for  a  Supreme  God  in  his  system, 
as  is  shown  by  the  only  mention  he  makes  of  a  heav- 
enly ruler.  Tao, "  he  says,  "is  empty,  in  opera- 
tion, exhaustiveness ;  in  its  depth  it  scans  the  future 
of  all  things.  It  blunts  sharp  angles.  It  unravels 
disorders.    It  softens  the  glare.    It  shares  the  dust. 

23 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

In  tranquillity  it  seems  ever  to  remain.  I  know  not 
whose  son  it  is.  It  appears  to  have  been  before 
God.  •Tao  is  unconditioned  being,  which,  as  an 
abstraction  too  subtle  for  words,  is  the  origin  of 
heavens  and  earth,  including  God  Himself,  and  when 
capable  of  being  expressed  by  name,  is  the  mother 
of  all  things."  '  . 

To  this  Dr.  Legge  objects:  "I  do  not  feel 
called  on  to  admit  that  Lao-tsze  did  not  believe  in 
God;"  and  in  fact  he  refers  to  this  use  of  the  term 
"God,"  "Ti,"as  quoted  above  by  Professor  Doug- 
las, to  show  that  he  did  recognize  the  existence  of 
God.  The  question  still  arises,  What  was  his  God  ? 
Nothing  but  an  abstract  infinite,  out  of  which  all 
things  came,  to  which  all  things  must  return.  God 
is  nature,  and  nature  is  God.  It  certainly  seems  as 
though  a  careful  student  of  the  Tao-Teh-King  and 
the  earliest  Taoist  writers  must  agree  with  Professor 
Douglas,  and  conclude  that  Lao-tsze  knew  noth- 
ing definite  of  a  personal  God.  For  spirits  and  lesser 
deities  he  seemed  to  have  little  or  no  use.  He  did 
not  deny  their  existence,  but  he  certainly  ignored  it. 
According  to  him  all  existing  beings  came  forth  from 
Tao,  the  Abyss  Mother.  Tao,  it  seems,  at  times  was 
almost  equivalent  to  Chaos,  but  this  Chaos  seemed 
to  have  a  certain  potentiality,  though  shapeless  and 
immaterial.     Says  he:     "Above   it   is   not   bright, 

'  "Confucianism  and  Taouism,"  p.  211, 
24 


TAOISM 

below  it  is  not  obscure;  boundless  in  its  operation, 
it  cannot  be  named;  retiring,  it  goes  home  into 
nothing.  This  I  call  the  appearance  of  non-ap- 
pearance; the  form  of  nothingness.  This  is  what 
baffles  investigation."  * 

But  this  same  Tao,  according  to  him,  in  its  poten- 
tiality does  more  than  create  —  "it  produces,  nour- 
ishes, enlarges,  feeds,  completes,  ripens,  cherishes, 
and  covers  all  things,  it  is  the  good  man's  glory,  the 
bad  man's  hope."  "  It  directs  the  affairs  of  men, 
rectifying  wrong.  "It  equaHzes  the  careers  of  men, 
taking  from  him  who  has  superabundance,  and 
giving  to  him  who  wants."  ^  "It  rewards  good 
deeds,  and  punishes  the  wicked.  It  blesses  those 
who  help  others,  and  gives  a  double  portion  to  those 
'who  supply  the  wants  of  the  needy." 

According  to  the  teachings  of  this  book,  the  heav- 
ens were  not  only  looked  upon  as  the  material  sky, 
but  were  personified,  though  with  far  more  reserve 
than  by  Confucius,  and  in  fact  heaven  is  spoken  of 
as  "the  offspring  of  Tao"  and  as  "receiving  its  law 
from  Tao."  " 

The  earth  also  is  personified,  is  believed  to  have 
been  produced  by  Tao,  and  to  be  governed  by  it, 
holding,  however,  the  same  relation  to  man  that 
Heaven  does;    all  things  come  into  being  for  a  set 

1  Tao-Teh-King,  Chap.  XIV.  ^  lUd.,  Chap.  LXXVII. 

*  Ibid.,  Chap.  LXII.  <  lUd.,  Chap.  XVI. 

25 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

purpose,  and,  lasting  a  given  time,  become  old  and 
return  whence  they  came.     This  is  called  "a  rever- 
sion to  destiny,"  * 
♦The   philosophy   of   Taoism,  however,  concerns 
.,  •itself  more  with  the  ethics  of  daily  life,  and  teaches 

•  that  by  a  species  of   self-abnegation   the  greatest 

•  good  for  all  will  be  obtained.  Lao-tsze  opposed  the' 
suggestions  of  Confucius  in,  regard  to  laws  and  regu- 

%  lations,  holding  that  these  would  not  be  needed  if 

•  the  heart  were  right.  Of  his  ethical  maxims  and 
suggestions  we  have  not  time  to  speak  now ;  suffice 
it  to  say  that  in  morality  he  fell  behind  no  heathen 
philosopher  of  either  ancient  or  modem  times,  but 
in  many  particulars  surpassed  the  greatest,  and 
certainly  in  one  exceeded  them  all  when  he  gave  in 
his  day  the  Christian  rule  to»recompense  evil  with 

•  good.  Such,  then,  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  philoso- 
phy of  Lao-tsze  as  given  in  the  Tao-Teh-King. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  in  studying  his  writings 
that  Lao-tsze  was  giving  the  world  a  philosophy, 
and  that,  too,  in  very  early  times.  He  saw  the  su- 
perstitions of  his  day,  and  the  struggles  that  some 
were  making  to  draw  men  back  to  "primitive  vir- 
tue" by  a  system  of  mere  rules  and  regulations,  and 
he  rebelled.  He  took  Tao  to  be  the  source  of  all 
things  material,  spiritual,  and  ethical ;  in  his  thought 
it  was  an  absolute  principle  that  existing  gave  rise 

'  Douglas,  "Confucianism  and  Taouism,"  p.  217. 
26 


TAOISM 

to  all  things.  His  philosophy  seems  to  have  been  a 
sort  of  pantheism,  with  Tao  as  his  god,  who  was 
everything.  Lose  yourself  in  Tao,  and  you  do  not 
need  rules  of  etiquette  and  morality;  all  will  be 
right.  His  moral  canons  were  on  the  whole  good, 
and  best  of  all  was  that  on  "recompense"  just  referred 
to. 

But  does  it  not  seem  as  though  the  Tao,  which 
Lao-tsze  knew  as  a  way  or  method  of  life,  of  which 
men  should  attain  the  highest  development,  was 
rather  in  reality  only  one  phase  of  his  Tao,  and  that, 
unable  to  fathom  the  depths  of  creation,  he  spoke  of 
its  other  phase  in  this  mysterious,  indefinite,  and 
veiled  language? 

I  know  that  there  are  those  who  assert  that  Lao- 
tsze's  writings  show  plainly  that  he  himself  had 
very  definite  ideas  about  the  origin  of  all  things.  I 
myself  doubt  this,  for  I  think  that  had  this  been  the 
case,  he  would  have  defined  them  more  clearly.  Yet, 
I  repeat,  we  must  not  forget  that  he  lived  in  the  ear- 
liest times,  when  language  was  not  as  clear  and  full 
as  now. 

Says  Dr.  Martin:  "The  Tao-Teh-King  abounds 
in  acute  apophthegms,  and  some  of  its  passages  rise 
to  the  character  of  sublimity;  but  so  incoherent  are 
its  contents  that  it  is  impossible  by  any  literal  in- 
terpretation to  form  them  into  a  system.  Its  incon- 
sistencies, however,  readily  yield  to  that  universal 

27 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

solvent  —  the  hypothesis  of  a  mystical  meaning 
underlying  the  letter  of  the  text."  ^ 

Before  we  leave  this  subject  of  the  Tao-Teh-King, 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  a  number  of  the  French 
fathers  in  the  earliest  days  and  others  of  a  later  time 
have  believed  they  found  here  evidence  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity.  The  majority  of  the  Chinese 
scholars  deny  this. 

The  following  passage,  taken  from  the  first  para- 
graph of  the  fourteenth  chapter,  is  one  of  those  that 
are  said  to  suggest  it :  — 

"That  which  is  invisible  is  called  "Ye"; 
That  which  is  inaudible  is  called  "He" ; 
That  which  is  impalpable  is  called  "Wei" ; 
These  three  are  inscrutable,  and  blended  in  one. 
The  first  is  not  the  brighter,  nor  the  last  the  darker. 
It    is  interminable,  ineffable,  and  existed  when  there  was 
nothing. 

"  A  shape  without  shape,  a  form  without  form, 
A  confounding  mystery. 
Go  back,  you  cannot  discover  its  beginning. 
Go  forward,  you  cannot  find  its  end. 
Take  the  ancient  reason  to  govern  the  present, 
And  you  will  know  the  origin  of  old. 
This  is  the  first  principle  of  Tao." 

The  first  three  lines  are  said  by  many  to  refer  to 
the  Trinity,  and  the  three  syllables  "Ye,"  "He," 
and  "Wei"  have  been  combined,  and  a  similarity 
has  been  found  in  this  to  "  Jehovah."     Of  course, 

'  "The  Chinese,"  p.  no- 
28 


TAOISM 

there  are  many  who  fail  to  see  any  reason  for  this 
combination,  but  the  French  fathers,  who  first  saw 
this  resemblance,  recognized  that  it  would  be  natu- 
ral for  a  people  like  the  Chinese  using  a  monosyllabic 
language  to  have  a  specific  meaning  for  each  syllable. 

The  divergence  in  vowel  sounds  might  very  easily 
arise  from  the  unpointed  Hebrew  text,  and  whether 
we  count  such  a  method  of  reasoning  altogether 
fanciful  and  unworthy  of  consideration,  or  without 
foundation,  certainly  »we  find  that  the  Taoists  of 
to-day  have  their  three  principal  gods,  which  three- 
fold conception  some  claim  has  been  evolved  from 
these  lines,  and  these  facts  are  certainly  of  great 
interest.  With,  to  say  the  least,  so  strange  a  coin- 
cidence as  this,  with  the  statement  in  the  lines  as 
quoted,  that  "  those  three  are  blended  in  one"  and  the 
definite  assertion  that  "one  is  neither  brighter  nor 
darker  than  the  other,  neither  greater  nor  less  than  the 
other,  and  that  they  are  eternal,  without  beginning 
without  end,"  is  it  not  allowable  to  doubt  whether 
the  French  fathers  and  the  earlier  writers  were  so 
far  wrong  as  the  present-day  sinologues  claim? 

Dr.  Legge  has  given  us  a  very  different  translation, 
having  assigned  a  meaning  for  the  syllables  "Ye," 
"He,"  and  "Wei";  but  Dr.  Martin,  of  Pekin,  whose 
scholarship  is  absolutely  unassailable,  says,  "What- 
ever truth  there  may  be  in  these  conjectures,  it  is 
certain   that   some  native  commentators   recognize 

29 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

in  the  passage  a  description  of  Shangte,  the  God  of 
the  Chinese  patriarchs,  and  the  three  syllables  of 
which  the  name  is  composed  are  admitted  to  have  no 
assignable  meaning  in  the  Chinese  language^  ^ 

It  is  conceded  that  in  the  translation  of  the  Chinese, 
and  especially  in  anything  as  terse  and  concise  as 
this  book,  there  is  the  possibility  of  much  latitude. 
It  being  remembered  that  the  Chinese  have  only 
ideographs,  or  picture  words,  with  which  to  express 
abstract  ideas,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  write  anything  which  will  not  admit  of  more 
than  one  interpretation.  When,  therefore,  as  fine  a 
Chinese  scholar  as  Dr.  A.  P.  Martin  finds  such  a 
translation  as  has  just  been  quoted,  which  appears 
to  me  to  give  the  unmistakable  idea  of  the  Trinity, 
in  conjunction  with  three  syllables,  which  he  asserts 
"are  admitted  to  have  no  assignable  meaning  in 
Chinese,"  but  which,  when  combined  so  closely,  re- 
semble the  name  Jehovah,  having  as  nearly  as  we  can 
judge  each  of  the  consonant  sounds  in  that  Hebrew 
name ;  to  say  the  very  least  there  seems  a  possibiHty 
if  not  a  strong  probability  that  somehow,  though  per- 
haps vaguely,  Lao-tsze  had  grasped  or  had  received 
from  patriarchal  sources  the  idea  of  the  Trinity.  ^ 

'"The  Chinese,"  p.  iii. 

*  It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  there  are  many  traditions  and 
legends  among  the  Chinese  that  seem  to  have  been  received  either 
from  the  Jews,  or  from  the  same  source  from  which  the  Jews  had 
been  taught. 

30 


TAOISM 

As  we  read  his  writings  of  the  Tao,  we  seem  to 
be  transported  back  through  three  thousand  years 
into  the  dewy  freshness  of  the  world's  daybreak, 
and  to  find  ourselves  in  touch  with  a  great  child  soul 
who  is  reaching  out  in  the  mist  and  half-light  for  his 
Creator.  Indistinct  and  occasional  echoes  of  the  song 
which  the  morning  stars  were  singing  are  caught 
now  and  then  by  his  listening  ear.  He  knows,  he 
feels,  that  the  Infinite  is  very  close.  Here  and  there 
the  veil  is  drawn  aside  a  Uttle,  and  he  catches  a 
glimpse  of  that  which  enraptures,  dazzles,  and  blinds 
his  finite  \dsion.  Ever  through  a  veil  darkly  he  sees, 
poor  brother,  but  still  he  searches  and  grasps  "if 
haply  he  may  find  him"  whom  his  soul  adores,  this 
One  who  "  creates,  produces,  nourishes,  enlB^es, 
feeds,  completes,  ripens,  cherishes,  and  covers  all 
things."  With  his  heart  in  tune  with  Tao  he  needs 
no  law,  for  that  great  Unnamed  has  taught  him  the 
golden  rule  enunciated  by  his  own  incarnate  Hps 
a  thousand  years  later.  At  times  his  finite  reasoiw 
becomes  confused,  between  nature  and  nature's  God, 
but  never  for  an  instant  does  his  heart  turn  aside  to 
find  a  puerile  satisfaction  in  lesser  deities  or  belittling 
superstitions.  We  see  him  kneeling  with  his  gaze 
riveted  upon  the  clouds  that  enshroud  the  Tao,^ 
with  hesitating    and   stuttering  speech  he  tries  to 

'  Translated  "  Word."     This  is  the  character  accepted  through 
all  China  as  a  translation  of  the  Greek  X070J. 

31 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

depict  for  us  what  he  sees  so  dimly,  language  fails,  — 
who  can  grasp  the  eternal  ?  —  but  we  know  there  is 
something  sublime,  unfathomable,  awful  at  once 
and  tender  as  a  mother,  that  makes  for  holiness. 
We  too  prostrate  ourselves,  for  we  believe  it  is  Je- 
hovah revealing  to  His  little  child  as  much  of  His 
light  as  he  is  able  to  bear. 
Now  let  us  turn  and  consider 

The  Taoist  Religion 

as  it  exists  to-day  in  China. 

At  the  time  of  Lao-tsze  and  Confucius  the  people 
of  China  had  begun  to  lose  the  purity  of  their  primi- 
l^l^^th,  deities  seem  to  have  been  acknowledged 
as  Wsting  at  first  simply  as  subjects  of  Sang  Ti, 
but  later  they  were  looked  upon  as  independent 
within  their  own  spheres,  and  were  worshipped  by 
the  people.  Still  later  an  intense  spirit  of  loyalty 
Jed  to  the  apotheosis  of  emperors  who  were  raised 
^o  the  rank  of  Ti.  Heroes  and  men  of  mark  by 
their  prowess  and  skill  bringing  themselves  promi- 
nently before  the  notice  of  the  ruling  powers  were 
after  death  raised  to  the  rank  of  gods  and  began  to 
swell  the  numbers  of  those  who  were  crowding  the 
ever  growing  pantheon  of  China. 

Strange,  natural  conformations,  such  as  peculiar 
growths  of  trees,  formations  of  rock,  dangerous  reefs 

32 


TAOISM 

at  sea,  high  points  of  land,  were  believed  to  be  the 
abodes  of  deities  who  exercised  within  certain  limits 
considerable  power,  whose  favor  must  be  won.  Un- 
usual and  terrifying  phenomena,  as  tidal  waves, 
cyclones,  and  bores  at  the  entrance  of  rivers  were 
accounted  the  manifestations  of  the  power  of  super- 
natural beings  whose  anger  must  be  appeased. 
Localities  were  reckoned  under  the  special  care  of 
local  deities,  and  as  time  passed,  this  process  of 
multiplication  went  on  quite  rapidly,  until  to-day 
the  number  of  gods  is  almost  beyond  computation. 
But  Lao-tsze,  some  claim,  had  plainly  taught  the 
immortahty  of  the  soul;  he  had,  at  least,  inferred 
this  possibility,  and  his  teachings  in  regard  to  j^f- 
abnegation  and  the  keeping  of  the  body  under  Jn,- 
order  to  prolong  Hfe  led  the  more  credulous  of  Kis 
successors  boldly  to  proclaim  the  possibility  of  the 
immortahty  of  the  body,  and  to  uphold  this  theory; 
there  have  not  been  wanting  those  who  have  striven 
to  prove  that  Lao-tsze  himself  never  died.  This 
soon  gave  rise  to  a  sect  *  or  society  of  men  who 
strongly  avowed  the  possibility  of  obtaining  the  elixir 

^  "  From  the  emperors  downwards  the  people  devoted  their 
lives  to  seeking  immunity  from  death  and  poverty.  Business 
of  every  kind  was  neglected,  fields  were  left  untilled,  the  markets 
were  deserted,  and  the  only  people  who  gained  any  share  of  the 
promised  benefits  were  the  professors  of  Taouism,  who  trafl&cked 
with  the  follies  of  their  countrymen,  and  who  fattened  on  the 
wealth  of  the  credulous."  —  Douglas,  "Taouism,"  p.  240. 

D  33 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

of  life,  and  the  story  of  the  ups  and  downs  of  Taoism 
and  Confucianism  in  later  days  is  to  a  great  extent 
the  recital  of  the  strife  between  Confucianist  and 
Taoist  priests  and  priestesses,  the  latter  continually 
attempting  to  control  the  monarchs  of  China  by 
their  offers  of  immortality.^ 

•  Taoism,  in  its  later  manifestations,  was  very  much 

affected  by  the  entrance  of  Bliddhism,  and  no  small 

«  part  of  the  development  of  the  Taoist  temples  and 

•  hierarchy,  as  they  exist  in  China,  is  copied  from  the 
•"latter.     As  we  shall  see.  Buddhism  also,  as  it  now 

exists  there,  had  been  very  much  affected  by  Taoism, 
and  one  prominent  writer  has  affirmed  that  while 

•  Buddhism  took  the  best  from  Taoism,  Taoism  took 

•  thi  worst  features   of   Buddhism  and  incorporated 

*  them  into  itself.  So  similar  have  these  two  religions 
become  that  it  is  not  always  easy  on  entering  a 
temple  to  distinguish  the  one  from  the  other. 

•  A  regular  priestly  hierarchy  has  been  built  up 

•  with  a  pope  at  its  head,  and  although  this  cult  has 
been  very  many  times  outlawed  by  the  Chinese 
government,  nevertheless   the  latter  in   its   intense 

^  "At  this  time  Taouism  was  in  no  sense  a  religion,  exercised 
no  control  over  the  conduct  of  its  votaries.  The  court  of  the 
Emperor  Woo  was  too  often  the  scene  of  the  grossest  immorality, 
and  Taouist  writers  recount  without  shame  the  legendary  amour 
of  the  emperor  with  his  fairy  visitor  Se  Wang  Moo.  The  only 
object  of  the  priests  was  to  trade  on  the  universal  desire  for  wealth 
and  long  life,  and  he  who  professed  the  greatest  powers  received 
the  greatest  rewards."  —  Douglas,  "Taouism,"  p.  241. 

34 


TAOISM 

desire  to  control  every  part  of  the  body  politic  has 
always  endeavored  to  maintain  a  large  share  in  the 
direction  of  this  influential  hierarchy,  u  Its  priests 
and  priestesses  are  also  experts  in  geomancy  and 
sorcery.  «  Present-day  Taoism  teaches  that  the 
world  is  peopled  with  myriads  of  malevolent  spir- 
its  who  are  ready  to  inflict  injury  upon  man 
and  are  also  the  direct  public  carriers  of  disease. 
The  bodily  ills  to  which  men  fall  heir  are  in  the 
main  brought  almost  directly  by  one  or  other  of 
these  spirits  or  demons,  who  must  be  exorcised  to 
obtain  relief.^ 

The  power  to  exorcise  is  the  peculiar  perquisite 
of  the  Taoist  priests  and  priestesses,  to  whom  also 
application  must  be  made  in  the  case  of  demoniacal 
possession,  which  is  not  uncommon.  ••The  sway 
which  such  a  hierarchy  wields  over  an  ignorant  and 
superstitious  people  can  scarcely  be  estimated,  and 
the  massacres  at  Tientsin  and  no  small  amount  of 
the  terrible  disasters  in  connection  with  the  Boxer 

*  "A  few  years  sufficed  to  cast  entirely  into  the  background 
all  metaphysical  consideration  enunciated  by  the  old  philosopher, 
and  to  construct  out  of  the  remnant  of  his  teachings  a  system  which 
might  be  applied  to  the  practical  concerns  of  life.  How  this  new 
school  came  into  existence,  and  who  were  its  apostles,  we  have 
no  means  of  knowing,  but  the  fact  that  Che  Hwang-te  made  an 
exception  in  favor  of  Taouist  works  when  he  ordered  the  de- 
struction of  the  books  may  possibly  indicate  that  in  the  third 
century  B.C.  its  adherents  were  a  large  and  powerful  body." 
• — Douglas,  "Taouism,"  p.  235. 

35 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

uprising  were  due  to  the  incitement  of  these  power- 
ful priests. 
»     Besides  other  things  borrowed  from  Buddhism, 
V   we  find  a  purgatory  and  hell,  and  with  no  small 
o   amount  of  detail  wTiters  attempt  to  describe  the  pun- 

•  ishments  inflicted  there,   and  the  special  court  in 
**   purgatory.^ 

^  The  moral  teachings  of  Taoism  are  in  the  main 
tt.  right.  In  fact,  a  religious  system  that  was  grossly 
^  and  openly  immoral  in  its  direct  teachings  would 
hardly  have  held  such  sway  in  the  land  of  Confu- 
^  cius.  Yet  a  religion  that  concedes  a  deified  har- 
^  lot  as  the  patroness  of  a  house  of  ill-fame  and  a 
%    special    presiding    deity  to   bless   gambhng   houses 

^  and  opium  dens,  cannot  but  be  degrading  to  any 

•  people. 

Here  we  have  the  anomaly  not  infrequently  met 
with  in  non-Christian  lands  of  a  rehgion  with  a 
system  of  ethics  that  is  directly  moral  in  its  teaching 
providing,  we  might  almost  say,  the  very  means  for 
the  most  licentious  immorality. 

Except  among  the  most  illiterate  and  debased 
people  the  physical  representations  of  the  deity,  as 
seen  in  peculiar  trees,  rocks,  mountain  formations, 

^  A  full  account  of  this  purgatory  can  be  found  in  an  appendix 
to  Professor  Giles's  book,  called  "Strange  Stories  from  a  Chinese 
Study,"  and  it  would  much  interest  the  student  to  read  Douglas's 
translation  of  the  "Book  of  Rewards  and  Punishments." 

36 


TAOISM 

or  in  carved  stone  and  wooden  idols,  are  not  looked 
upon  as  the  gods  themselves,  but  rather  as  represen- 
tations of  the  gods,  or  the  places  of  their  abode ;  but 
so  low  have  the  thoughts  of  the  people  of  China 
sunk  under  the  materialistic  influences  of  a  demoral^ 
ized  Taoism,  that  to  a  large  extent,  especially  among 
the  more  illiTerate,  these  are  looked  upon  as  the  very 
gods  themselves.  Having  spent  many  years  in 
Korea,  and,  in  every  case  investigated,  having  as- 
certained that  it  was  the  spirit  supposed  to  be  residing 
in  the  idol  or  represented  by  it  that  was  worshipped, 
I  referred  to  this  recently  in  the  presence  of  a  mis- 
sionary from  China,  who  informed  me  that  in  south- 
em  China,  at  least,  they  were  much  more  material- 
istic, and  that  he  had  seen  at  a  time  of  severe  drought 
the  Chinese  taking  their  god  idols  through  the  streets 
and  publicly  thrashing  them  because  they  had  not 
conferred  the  needed  rain.  Such,  then,  have  been 
the  materialistic  and  degrading  tendencies  of-  the 
Taoism  of  China. 

Starting,  as  we  have  seen,  from  a  pure  henotheism, 
or,  may  we  not  almost  say,  from  a  pure  monotheism, 
-^  the  tendency  has  seemed  downward,  first  through 
the  introduction  of  nature-worship,  then  a  step  lower 
still,  to  pure  polytheism,  with  all  its  demoralizing 
tendencies;  men  have  gradually,  to  suit  their  own 
desires,  invented  lesser  gods,  and  then  lowered  their 
idea  of  the  chief  god,  and,  with  base  conceptions  of 

37 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

the  deity,  there  has  resuhed  a  rank  growth  of  the 
most  degenerating  and  degrading  superstitions. 

As  Dr.  Martin  has  said,  we  are  led  to  beheve  that 
their  monotheistic  concepts  were  gained  from  pa- 
triarchal times.  They  seemed,  then,  to  have  had  a 
little  light,  but  covering  this  up,  and  hiding  it  by 
their  own  sinful  imaginations,  the  light  has  become 
absolute  darkness. 

The  first  thing  that  attracts  attention  on  entering 
a  Taoist  temple  is  the  presence  of  the  three  gods  of 
Taoism,  which  may  be  said  to  be  the  three  chief 
deities  of  the  system;  the  present-day  statement 
being  that  originally  there  was  one  principle  of  nature 
which  produced  two,  which  two  became  the  dual 
powers,  these  again  produced  one.  In  addition, 
as  has  been  seen,  other  gods  have  been,  and  are 
still  being,  added. 

We  would  note  particularly  that  these  gods  par- 
take of  man's  nature,  and  as  man  can  sin,  so  they 
can  sin,  and  strangest  of  all,  it  is  said  to  be  the 
province  of  some  of  the  high  priests  of  Taoism  to 
judge  the  gods  and  pass  sentence  upon  them,  and  ad- 
minister punishment,  and  as  a  consequence  of  this, 
there  is  for  them  not  only  a  possible  degradation, 
but  a  possible  promotion  upon  which  the  proper 
provincial  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  decide. 
'  In  this  connection  they  have  deified  Lao-tsze,  and 
Jiave  even  declared  him  the  creator,  putting  into  his 

38 


"^      Of    THE  \ 

UNIVERSITY   I 


OF         y 
^       AOISM 


mouth  the  following  words,  as  his  address  to  the  as- 
sembly of  the  gods :  — 

" Before  chaos  I  created  all  things;  I  begat  heaven 
and  earth,  and  I  carried  the  female  principle  on  my 
back,  and  the  male  principle  in  my  arms.  The  male 
air  went  up  and  begat  heaven,  and  the  female  air 
descended  and  begat  earth.  The  remainder  of  the 
male  air  was  changed  into  man,  and  the  remainder  of 
the  female  air  was  changed  into  woman.  The  two 
kinds  of  air  by  their  own  power  changed  into  all 
things."  ^ 

It  may  readily  be  seen  that  where  gods  are  not 
simply  provided  for  all  the  specific  wants  of  man, 
man  himself  being  allowed  to  appoint  these  deities, 
which  are  thus  supposed  to  be  liable  to  sin  together 
with  the  man,  and  where  man  himself  is  considered 
able  to  judge  the  sinning  god  and  to  assign  his  pen- 
alties, the  human  heart  being  what  it  is,  there  are 
almost  no  depths  to  which  man  may  not  fall. 

It  seems  very  evident  that  Lao-tsze  never  expected 
to  give  a  religion  to  the  people  of  China.  But 
later  generations,  with  his  philosophy  as  an  alleged 
groundwork,  have  evolved  a  reHgion  that  con- 
tradicts his  teachings  at  almost  every  point;  a  re- 
ligion that  has  had  a  bhghting  influence  upon  all 
China,  which  nothing  but  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 

*  H.  C.  DeBose,  "The  Dragon,  Image  and  Demon,"  p.  364. 

39 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Himself  can  restore.  This  is  only  another  sad  proof 
of  the  natural  tendency  of  everything  human  to  decay 
and  degenerate.  Our  little  systems  have  their  day, 
and  cease  to  be.  They  are  at  best  but  broken  lights 
of  the  great  orb  of  divine  glory,  and  all  too  soon 
fade  into  darkness. 


40 


LECTURE   II 

Shintoism 

In  our  last  lecture  we  considered  Taoism,  its 
philosophy  as  well  as  its  religious  practices,  as  ex- 
emplified throughout  the  land  of  China.  In  this 
it  is  our  purpose  to  study 

Shintoism 

►/  sometimes  translated  the  "Way  of  the  Gods,"  which 
i  may  be  considered  the  national  religion  of  Japan/ 
In  the  investigation  of  this  subject  we  have  not 
the  same  advantages  that  we  had  in  considering  the 
Taoism  of  China,  especially  in  regard  to  ascertain- 
ing what  may  have  been  the  primitive  faith  of  this 
land.     Not   only   were   the    Japanese   without   the 

^Speaking  of  Shinto,  Dr.  Knox  says   (p.  i):      "It  only  can 
i  claim  to  be  a  native  product  and  to  be  representative  therefore 
'  of  the  native  genius.     It  arose  in  remote  antiquity;  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  times  which  we  may  term  historical  it  was  made  the 
^  theoretical  basis  of  the  Imperial  power,  and,  after  an  eclipse  for 
*  a  thousand  years,  in  our  own  day  it  is  the  form  in  which  the 
national  feeling  manifests  itself.     But,  nevertheless,  the  interest 
in  Shinto  is  chiefly  archaeological,  for  to  the  majority  of  the  people 
its  teaching  is  unknown,  while  the  Government  has  disclaimed 
religious  significance  for  its  rites,  and  has  announced  that  they  are 
merely  a  form  for  state  ceremonials." 

41 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

means  of  expressing  their  thoughts  in  writing,  but  as 
they  did  not  evolve  for  themselves  a  system  of  ideo- 
graphs, we  have  not  the  same  means  of  learning, 
from  philological  studies,  their  early  beliefs.  There 
are  no  records  of  the  very  earliest  times,  and  such 
as  were  prepared  in  later  days  relied  almost  entirely 
,  on  oral  traditions.     The  art  of  writing    was    not 

•  introduced  from  Korea  until  the  year  284  a.d.  and 

•  the  earliest  documents  we  have  date  from  the  begin- 
•  ning  of  the  eighth  century. 

^     The   two   books  from  which   we   obtain   practi- 
'.cally  all  our  data  of  the  earliest  Japanese  history 

•  and  mythology  are  the  Kojiki,  712  a.d.,^  and  the 
;  Nihongi,  720  a.d.^ 

As  might  be  expected,  even  these  are  not  without 
error,  for,  as  Mr.  Chamberlain  has  pointed  out,  the 
Kojiki  asserts  that  Wani,  when  he  introduced  letters 
into  Japan,  among  other  books  brought  also  a 
copy  of  "The  Thousand -character  Essay,"  which 
was  a  manifest  mistake,  as  it  was  not  really  written 
until  two  centuries  later  than  the  time  of  its  alleged 
introduction.  Such  errors  as  this  might  easily  be 
expected  to  creep  in,  but  they  detract  little  from  the 

^  Translated  into  English  and  ably  edited  by  Mr.  B.  H.  Cham- 
berlain in  Supplement  to  "Transactions  of  the  Japan  Society," 
Vol.  X.,  1882. 

'  Translated  into  English  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Aston,  the  highest 
living  authority  on  Shintoism,  in  "Transactions  of  the  Japan 
Society,"  1896. 

42 


SHINTOISM 

real  value  of  these  books,  and  the  only  thing  for  us 
to  do  is  carefully  to  compare  their  dates,  and  weigh 
deductions  before  accepting  their  conclusions.  It 
is  very  much  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  no  earlier 
data,  and,  as  Dr.  Griffis  says,  the  study  of  Japanese 
history  and  mythology  is  that  of  modern  times  as 
compared  with  the  much  more  ancient  records  of 
China  and  Korea. 

However,  we  think  it  possible  there  may  have  been 
preserved  to  us  some  of  the  ancient  faiths  and  beliefs 
of  comparatively  primitive  Japan  in  the  poems, 
songs,  chants,  and  ritual  as  laid  down  in  the  two 
books  mentioned. 

Almost  at  the  same  time  with  the  introduction 
of  Chinese  literature  and  letters  referred  to  above, 
Buddhism  was  introduced,  and  as  we  shall  see  in 
our  discussion  of  both  Shintoism  and  Buddhism 
in  Japan,  this  soon  came  so  to  overshadow  the  native 
religion,  and  in  fact  for  so  many  centuries  by  what 
has  been  termed  a  "pious  fraud"  practically  so  to 
eclipse  Shintoism  that  there  has  been  in  all  these 
centuries  no  one  who  could  be  called  a  public  ex- 
pounder of  its  doctrines. 

It  was  not  until  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  any  real  attempt  was  made  to  exploit 
this  religion.  At  this  time  the  native  scholars 
Motoori  and  Hirata  endeavored  to  arouse  interest 
in  the  native  faith  and  to  free  it  from  its  Buddhistic 

43 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

accretions,  so  as  to  give  to  the  nation  a  pure  Shinto- 
ism.  Of  course,  we  can  readily  see  how  these  men 
were  largely  governed  by  their  preconceived  ideas 
and  endeavored  to  find  proof  of  the  theories 
they  were  wishing  to  establish.  Consequently,  not 
as  much  weight  can  be  given  to  their  statements, 
and  we  must  remember  that  they  had  no  more 
data  on  which  to  base  their  theories  than  we  have 
in  the  Kojiki  and  Nihongi  themselves.  There  is, 
however,  this  advantage  that  they  were  Japanese 
and  consequently  they  may  be  relied  upon  as  giving 
us  the  viewpoint  of  at  least  a  large  section  of  the 
Japanese  themselves  unencumbered  by  the  mistaken 
theories  and  "unconscious  importation  of  modem 
European  and  Christian  ideas,"  so  apt  to  creep  into 
the  interpretations  given  by  European'  Christians. 
We  cannot,  then,  know  the  primitive  faith  of  the 
Japanese,  but  we  are  able  to  arrive  at  certain  con- 
clusions concerning  the  Shintoism  existent  in  this 
land  at  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  letters. 

While  Griffis  and  Hearn  and  others  base  the  na- 
tive religion  on  ancestor  worship,  giving  this  as  the 
foundation  of  the  religion  of  Japan,  both  Knox  and 
Aston,  as  well  as  others,  take  an  opposite  view. 

Says  Knox:  "In  the  Kojiki  there  is  no  hint  of 
prayer  to  the  ancestors  of  the  Emperors,  nor  of  their 
worship.  In  the  Nihongi  both  appear,  but  only 
at   a  late  date.     The  worship  of  ancestors,   then, 

44 


SHINTOISM 

even  of  the  Imperial  family,  is  not  of  the  original 
religion  of  Japan,  which  is  nature-worship.  It  is 
through  the  Chinese  influence  that  Shinto  is  formed, 
and  the  worship  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead  intro- 
duced, but  this  remains  strictly  subordinate."  ^ 

Mr.  Aston  stoutly  upholds  this,  asserting  that 
"the  only  case  of  it  [ancestor  worship]  except  in 
modem  times,  and  under  foreign  influences,  is  that 
of  the  JMikados,  and  even  then  there  is  no  evidence 
of  its  existence  before  the  sixth  century."  ^ 

It  is  very  easy  to  see  how,  since  letters  and  what 
they  knew  as  ci\dlization  came  from  China,  the  land 
of  ancestor  worship,  attempts  would  be  made  by 
those  who  were  pro-Chinese,  or  even  by  those  who 
would  become  the  "Kterati"  of  the  land,  to  prove 
that  their  own  faith  was  on  the  Chinese  form, 
and  consequently  Hearn  and  others  will  find  many 
natives  to  uphold  their  position,  but  the  arguments 
of  Knox  and  Aston  from  the  very  documents  them- 
selves seem  unanswerable,  and  we  are  compelled  to 
consider  Shinto  a  pure  nature-worship. 

Speaking  of  the  earliest  known  period.  Dr.  Gulick 
says:  "The  Japanese  had  no  notion  of  religion 
as^a^separate^Jnstitution.  To  pay  homage  to  the 
gods,  that  is,  to  the  departed  ancestors  of  the  Im- 
perial family,  and  to  the  names  of  other  great  men, 

^  "The  Development  of  Religion  in  Japan,"  pp.  66-67. 
^  "Shinto,"  p.  44. 

45 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

was  a  usage  springing  from  the  same  soil  as  that 
which  produced  passive  obedience  to,  and  worship 
of,  the  Hving  mikado.  Besides  this,  there  were 
prayers  to  the  wind-gods,  to  the  god  of  fire,  to  the 
god  of  pestilence,  to  the  goddess  of  food,  and  to 
deities  presiding  over  the  saucepan,  the  caldron, 
the  gate,  and  the  kitchen.  There  were  also  puri- 
fications for  wrong-doing.  But  there  was-.not-even 
a  shadowy  idea  of  any  code  of  morals,  or  any  sys- 
tematization  of  the  simple  notions  joLihe  people  con- 
cerning things  unseen.  There  was  neither  heaven 
nor  hell  —  only  a  kind  of  neutral  tinted  Hades. 
Some  of  the  gods  were  good  and  some  were  bad, 
nor  was  the  line  between  men  and  gods  at  all  clearly 
drawn."  ^ 

But  what  was  this  but  religion  ?  They  may  not 
have  had  a  notion  as  to  what  was  a  religion,  they 
may  not  have  been  able  to  define  the  term,  nor  to 
have  told  that  they  had  any  distinct  "religion," 
but  they  had  their  prayers  to  their  various  gods, 
evidently  for  protection,  and  purifications  for  wrong- 
doing. The  fact  that  they  may  not  have  had  any 
"code  of  morals"  nor  " systematization  of  notions 
concerning  things  unseen"  does  not  prove  them  to 
be  without  religion.  The  absence  of  a  "heaven 
and  hell  formulated  into  language,"  or  of  a  clearly 
drawn  line  between  gods  and  men,  does  not  postu- 

*  "Evolution  of  the  Japanese,"  p.  305. 
46 


SHINTOISM 

late  an  absence  of  religious  ideas,  and  it  is  these  that 
we  desire  to  ascertain. 

At  this  time  there  was,  as  far  as  has  been  learned, 
no  mythology,  no  system  of  doctrine,  no  idea  as  to 
beginnings  or  as  to  the  past  or  the  future.  Men  did 
not  concern  themselves  about  such  notions. 

The  earliest  records,  however,  show  that  the  Jap- 
anese  were  primarily  nature- worshippers,  personify- 
ing the  superhuman  elements  of  nature,  ascribing 
to  them  honor  and  worshipping  them.  As  to  just 
which  of  the  elements  they  first  worshipped  we  have 
no  data,  nor  is  there  anything  to  show  whether  at 
any  time  they  worshipped  one  or  more  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  others. 

Professor  Kumi,  a  native  student,  has  brought 
to  light  evidence  which  clearly  proves  that  primitive 
Shinto  differed  very  materially  from  that  of  to-day. 
He  maintains  that  originally  the  mikados  were  not 
considered  deities  or  even  divine,  dating  the  deifica- 
tion of  the  mikados  (and  that  at  first  only  after 
death)  much  later.  He  also  claims  that  the  temples 
to  the  sun-goddess  were  originally  shrines  for  the 
worship  of  the  heavens,  carrying  his  declaration  so 
far  that  he  claims  that  the  primitive  reHgion  of  at 
least  a  portion  of  the  Japanese  was  a  rude  kind  of 
"monotheism"  coupled  with  the  worship  of  "sub- 
ordinate spirits." 

It  has  been  claimed  that  his  desires  led  Professor 
47 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Kumi  farther  than  his  documents  would  allow,  for 
the  consensus  of  the  best  scholars  asserts  that  there 
is  no  trace  of  any  monotheism  at  all  in  either  the 
Kojiki  or  Nihongi  or  in  any  of  the  other  earliest 
writings. 

Of  course,  we  must  not  forget  how  late  are  the 
earliest  data  we  have  from  which  to  draw  any  con- 
clusion as  to  the  primitive  faith  of  Japan.  We 
might  almost  admit  at  once  that  of  this  we  cannot 
postulate  anything  at  all.  In  our  deductions  from 
the  evidence  at  hand  we  are  not  really  speaking 
of  primitive  Japan,  but,  as  compared  with  China, 
of  modern  times.  Letters  were  introduced  into 
Japan  in  the  third  century  a.d.,  and  the  first  books 
we  have,  are  of  the  early  part  of  the  eighth  century, 
and  even  these  were  written  with  a  definite  purpose, 
to  prove  a  point. 

In  China  we  have  Confucius  and  Lao-tsze  living 
in  the  sixth  century  B.C.,  over  one  thousand  years 
earlier. 

When,  then,  we  consider  the  condition  of  religious 
beliefs  in  their  times,  as  ,  ascertained  in  the  last 
lecture,  how  polytheism  of  the  rankest  kind  had 
already  supplanted  the  ancient  pure  monotheism, 
and  had  completely  obscured  its  original  existence 
to  such  an  extent  that  many  of  the  earliest  students 
of  China  and  the  Chinese  classed  them  as  pure 
animists  and  spiritists,  we  can  readily  see  how  im- 

48 


SHINTOISM 

possible  it  is  to  decide  what  the  real  primitive  faith 
of  Japan  may  have  been. 

Professor  Kumi  may  have  been  right  in  his  con- 
clusions, though  we  may  not  be  able  to  see  how  he 
could  have  obtained  them  from  any  known  records. 
Says  Aston:  "A  nature- worship  such  as  the  older 
Shinto  was  in  substance  is  inevitably  polytheistic. 
The  worship  of  a  single  nature-god,  as  the  Sun, 
is  indeed  conceivable.  But  in  practice  the  same 
impulse  which  leads  to  the  personification  of  one 
nature-object  or  phenomenon  never  rests  there.  .  .  . 

"There  is  some  evidence  that  Shinto  took  the 
place  of  a  still  grosser  and  more  indiscriminate 
polytheism.  We  are  told  that  Take-mika-tsuchi 
and  Futsunushi  prepared  Japan  for  the  advent  of 
Ninigi  by  clearing  it  of  savage  deities  who  in  the 
daytime  buzzed  like  summer  flies,  and  at  night 
shone  like  fire-pots,  while  even  the  rocks,  trees,  and 
foam  of  water,  had  all  power  of  speech."  * 

With  this  statement  of  Dr.  Aston' s  the  best  writers 
agree,  so  that  we  seem  to  be  hedged  in  to  the  theory 
that  the  prehistoric  faith  of  Japan  was  a  polytheistic 
nature-worship.  As  has  been  said,  all  the  super- 
human elements  of  nature  were  first  worshipped,  and 
later  only  the  more  manifestly  powerful,  ''the  Sun, 
Moon,  Wind,  Thunder,"  etc.  No  thought  seems 
to  have  been  given  as  to  the  why  and  wherefore. 

^  "Shinto,"  p.  66. 

E  49 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Then  came  in  a  sort  of  spiritism,  which  it  is 
not  likely  was  reasoned  out.  They  did  not  think  of 
man  as  either  having  or  lacking  a  soul.  The  line 
of  demarcation  between  gods  and  men  was  not 
clearly  defined.  When,  then,  a  man  performed 
apparently  superhuman  acts,  he  was  looked  upon  as 
a  god,  and  when  such  a  man  had  passed  from 
this  world,  the  question  arose,  Was  he  gone,  and 
whither?  and  so  man  began  to  think  of  ghosts  and 
spirits  of  the  dead.  These  at  first  were  not  looked 
upon  as  deities. 

With  no  written  records  through  which  to  pass 
down  the  stories  of  earliest  times,  men  began  to  tell 
the  deeds  that  they  had  witnessed  and  then  those  of 
which  they  had  heard.  In  all  these  doings,  as  they 
recounted  them,  the  superhuman  beings  who  appeared 
superior  (the  very  word  "  Kami,"  the  Japanese  na- 
tional word  for  god,  means  one  who  is  above, 
over,  or  superior)  had  their  share  and  took  part, 
and  thus  came  in  the  myths  which  later  gave  rise 
to  the  possibility  of  a  mythology. 

It  is  very  clear  that  in  the  present-day  Shintoism 
there  is  no  supreme  god,  supreme  powers  are  con- 
ceived of  as  belonging  to  no  one  of  the  members 
of  their  pantheon,  and,  consequently,  we  are  led  to 
believe  that  this  was  also  the  case  in  their  primitive 
ideas,  and  that  the  early  religion  of  Japan  did  not 
give   the    faintest   notion    of    even    a    henotheism, 

50 


SHINTOISM 

but  was  the  sheerest  polytheism  nature-worship  could 
offer. 

There  are  other  attributes  and  acts  ascribed  to 
the  deities  in  the  books  from  which  we  have  arrived 
at  the  above  deductions,  but  how  far  these  writings 
were  the  addition  of  later  ages  known  rather  at  the 
time  of  the  writing  of  the  records,  we  cannot  well 
say.  With  this  outline  of  what  were  the  early  be- 
liefs of  the  people  of  these  islands  let  us  now  turn 
to  a  consideration  of 

The  History  of  the  Development  of  Shintoism 

We  find  that  we  have  a  fairly  clear  statement  at 
least  of  the  mythology  of  Shintoism,  and  from  this 
we  can  learn  many  of  its  tenets.  This  statement 
is  found  mainly  in  the  two  books  referred  to,  the 
Kojiki  and  the  Nihongi,  and,  as  was  said,  both  of 
these  have  been  translated  into  English,  so  that 
their  pages  are  open  to  all  English-speaking  people. 
These  books  are  acknowledged  to  have  been  prepared 
from  oral  traditions.  The  Kojiki  itself  avows  this. 
The  emperor  in  68 1  a.d.  commanded  ^  the  prepara- 

'  "  Not  until  two  centuries  after  the  coming  of  Buddhism  and  of 
Asiatic  civilization  did  it  occur  to  the  Japanese  to  reduce  to  writing 
the  floating  legends  and  various  cycles  of  tradition  v/hich  had 
grown  up  luxuriantly  in  different  parts  of  'the  empire,'  or  to 
express  in  the  Chinese  character  the  prayers  and  thanksgivings 
which  had  been  handed  down  orally  through  many  generations." 
—  Griflis,  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  47. 

51  • 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

tion  of  the  annals,  but  he  died,  and  a  long  time 
elapsed  before  the  order  was  carried  out,  and  then 
it  was  avowedly  taken  down  from  the  dictation  of 
a  man  of  "marvellous  memory."  All  this  was  done, 
it  is  stated,  with  the  definite  purpose  of  more  firmly 
establishing  the  reigning  house  upon  the  throne. 
All  the  myths  or  stories  of  their  primitive  faith  were 
then  strung  together  with  this  one  end  in  view,  a  fact 
which  must  be  kept  in  mind  in  our  study. 

Says  Dr.  Griffis:  "One  of  the  motives  for,  and 
one  of  the  guiding  principles  in,  the  selections  of 
the  floating  myths  was  that  the  ancestry  of  the 
chieftains  loyal  to  the  mikado  might  be  shown  to  be 
from  the  heavenly  gods.  But  the  narrative  of  the 
Kojiki  and  the  liturgies  show  this  clearly."  ^ 

The  position  of  the  ruling  tribe  had  been  obtained 
through  conquest.  The  conquered  tribes  and  nobles 
rebelled  from  time  to  time,  and  chafed  under  the 
restrictions  imposed.  The  claims  of  the  conqueror 
were  far-reaching.  All  real  estate,  personal  property, 
and  even  the  persons  of  his  subjects  belonged  to  him. 
For  a  long  time  there  was  no  peace,  and  then  came 
a  period  of  stability,  and  it  seemed  as  though  all  was 
now  settled  when  once  again  a  revolution  broke  out 
in  645  A.D.  Later  still  a  plot  threatened  the  mi- 
kado's house.  It  was  discovered,  the  danger  averted, 
and  it  was  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  such  difficulties 

'  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  45. 


SHINTOISM 

that  the  court  recorder  was  ordered  to  prepare  an- 
nals of  the  kingdom  from  the  earliest  days.  Let  me 
quote  Dr.  Knox  at  some  length  on  this  point.  "The 
emperor,  who  in  68 1  commanded  the  preparation 
of  the  annals,  said,  'I  hear  that  the  chronicles  of 
emperors,  likewise  the  original  words  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  various  families,  deviate  from  the  exact 
truth,  and  are  mostly  amplified  by  empty  false- 
hoods.' If  at  the  present  time  these  imperfections 
are  not  amended,  ere  many  years  shall  elapse  the 
great  basis  of  the  country,  the  grand  foundation  of 
the  monarchy,  will  be  destroyed."  And  further  the 
compiler  tells  us  that  he  "made  a  careful  choice." 
Thus,  in  this  so-called  "Bible  of  the  Japanese" 
we  have  a  work  written  with  a  definite  purpose, 
the  correction  of  false  claims  and  the  establishment 
of  the  monarchy,  while  in  a  secondary  way  we  are 
to  be  given  the  origin  of  the  universe  itself.^    There 

^Briefly  the  statement  is  this:  the  "Heavenly  Sovereign" 
or  Mikado,  Temmu  (673-686  a.d.),  lamenting  that  the  records 
possessed  by  the  chief  families  were  "mostly  amplified  by  empty 
falsehoods,"  and  fearing  that  "the  grand  foundation  of  the 
monarchy"  would  be  destroyed,  resolved  to  preserve  the  truth. 
He  therefore  had  the  records  carefully  examined,  compared,  and 
their  errors  eliminated.  There  happened  to  be  in  his  household 
a  man  of  marvellous  memory,  named  Hiyeda  Are,  who  could 
repeat,  without  mistake,  the  contents  of  any  document  he  had 
ever  seen,  and  never  forgot  anything  which  he  had  heard.  This 
person  was  duly  instructed  in  the  genuine  traditions  and  old 
language  of  former  ages,  and  made  to  repeat  them  until  he  had 
the  whole  by  heart.     "Before  the  undertaking  was  completed," 

53 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

is  no  pretence  of  a  religious  motive,  nor  of  setting 
forth  a  moral  code,  but  in  accordance  with  Chinese 
precedents  Japan,  too,  is  to  have  a  cosmology,  a 
national  history,  and  an  account  of  the  fashion  in 
which  the  imperial  house  obtained  its  power;  it 
is  only  in  the  light  of  this  manifest  "tendency" 
that  the  "  meaning  of  the  book  itself  and  of  Shinto 
can  be  understood."  ^ 

In  these  books  we  find  a  host  of  varied  stories 
which  attempt  to  give  an  account  of  the  beginnings 
of  all  things.  Their  myths  are,  most  of  them, 
rather  puerile  and  not  unlike  many  of  our  own  fairy 
stories.  Some  have  been  called  "lovely  and  beauti- 
ful," but  the  greater  number  are  disgusting  and 
obscene. 

Says  Professor  Chamberlain,  the  translator  of  the 
Kojiki :  — 

"  The  shocking  obscenity  of  work  and  act  to  which 
the  Records  bear  witness  is  another  ugly  feature 
which  must  not  quite  be  passed  over  in  silence. 
It  is  true  that  decency,  as  we  understand  it,  is  a  very 
modern  product,  and  it  is  not  to  be  looked  for  in 
any  society  in  the  barbarous  stage.     At  the  same 

which  probably  means  before   it  could  be  committed  to  writing, 
"  the  emperor  died,  and  for  twenty-five  years  Are's  memory  was 
the  sole  depository  of    what    afterwards    received    the    title  of 
'Kojiki.'"  —  Griffis,  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  6i. 
*"The  Development  of  Religion  in  Japan,"  p.  56. 

54 


SHINTOISM 

time  the  whole  range  of  literature  might  perhaps 
be  ransacked  for  a  parallel  to  the  naive  filthiness 
of  the  passage  forming  Section  IV  of  the  following 
translation  or  to  the  extraordinary  topic  which  the 
hero  Yamato-Take  and  his  mistress  Miyadzu  are 
made  to  select  as  the  theme  of  poetical  repartee. 
One  passage  likewise  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that 
the  most  beastly  crimes  were  commonly  committed." 

We  will  not  then  attempt  to  quote  many  of  these 
myths,  but  those  we  give  will  well  illustrate  the  dif- 
ference between  them  and  the  quotations  given  in 
our  last  lecture ;  I  must  reiterate,  however,  that  they 
are  of  a  later  period,  a  subsequent  age,  and  when 
compared  with  the  Chinese  myths  and  legends 
of  the  same  times,  they  are  in  no  way  more  puerile 
and  fanciful,  despite  the  fact  that  their  narrators 
lacked  the  uplift  and  inspiration  of  the  literati  as 
well  as  of  the  literature  China  already  had. 

We  cannot  go  into  a  full  description  of  this  system, 
but  a  brief  outline  may  be  of  interest  and  will  assist 
us  in  gaining  some  idea  of  the  theism  of  Japan. 
According  to  the  Kojiki  and  Nihongi  there  was  first 
a  chaos,  whence  in  some  unaccountable  way,  heaven 
and  earth  were  separated  and  various  deities  were 
produced,  —  most  of  whom  passed  almost  at  once 
into  oblivion.  Says  the  Kojiki :  "  Of  old,  heaven  and 
earth  were  not  yet  separated,  and  In  and  Yo  not 

55 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

divided.  They  formed  a  chaotic  mass,  like  an  egg, 
which  was  of  obscurely  defined  limits,  and  contained 
germs.  The  purer  and  clearer  part  was  thinly 
diffused  and  formed  heaven,  while  the  heavier  and 
grosser  element  settled  down  and  became  earth. 
The  finer  element  easily  became  a  united  body,  but 
the  consolidation  of  the  heavy  and  gross  element 
was  accomplished  with  difficulty.  Heaven  was  there- 
fore formed  first,  and  earth  established  subsequently. 
Thereafter  divine  beings  were  produced  between 
them."  ' 

There  then  follow  several  generations  of  gods,'' 
who  are  named  only  once  in  these  mythical  gene- 
alogies,' and  of  whom  no  mention  ever  occurs  again. 

*  The  translations  from  the  Kojiki  and  Nihongi  are  taken  from 
Aston's  "  Shinto." 

^"The  two  opening  sections  of  this  book  Kojiki  treat  of 
kami  that  were  in  the  minds  even  of  the  makers  of  the  myths 
little  more  than  mud  and  water  —  the  mere  bioplasm  of  deity. 
The  seven  divine  generations  are  'born,'  but  do  nothing  except 
that  they  give  Izanagi  and  Izanami  a  jewelled  spear.  With  this 
pair  comes  differentiation  of  sex.  It  is  immediately  on  the  appari- 
tion of  the  consciousness  of  sex  that  motion,  action,  and  creation 
begin,  and  the  progress  of  things  visible  ensues.  The  details 
cannot  be  put  into  English,  but  it  is  enough,  besides  noting  the 
conversation  and  union  of  the  pair,  to  say  that  the  term  meaning 
giving  birth  to  refers  to  inanimate  as  well  as  animate  things.  It 
is  used  in  reference  to  the  islands  which  compose  the  archipelago 
as  well  as  to  the  various  kami  which  seem,  in  many  cases,  to  be 
nothing  more  than  the  names  of  things  or  places."  —  GrifBs, 
"The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  52. 

^  Of  the  origin  of  these  deities.  Dr.  Knox  says,  p.  22:  "Or,  once 
more,  as  men  and  animals  beget  their  offspring,  so  are  the  islands 

56 


SHINTOISM 

Why  they  were  produced  or  for  what  purpose  their 
names  were  inserted,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  judge, 
unless  it  were  to  prove  clearly  that  the  gods,  like 
men,  are  made  to  pass  away,  and  be  heard  of  no 
more. 

The  whole  Japanese  mythology  is  eminently  an- 
thropomorphic not  only  as  to  the  gods  themselves, 
but  as  to  their  habits,  their  relations  to  each  other, 
and  their  relations  with  men.  Of  this  portion  of 
the  Kojiki  Mr.  Aston  says:  "It  is  impossible  to 
translate  this  rigmarole.  Some  of  them  [these 
deities]  had  probably  no  existence  outside  the  im- 
agination of  individual  writers;  they  were  doubtless 
invented  or  collected  in  order  to  provide  a  genealogy 
for  Izanagi  and  Izanami."  ^    It  is  with  these  two 

and  deities  begotten.  The  method  of  creation  does  not  affect 
the  rank  or  kind  of  the  creature.  Thus  the  islands  of  the  empire 
are  begotten  by  their  divine  parents,  but  the  sun-goddess,  who  is 
mightiest  of  the  host  of  heaven,  and  the  ancestress  of  the  Im- 
perial line,  and  the  founder  of  the  empire,  was  washed  from  the 
filth  which  filled  Izanagi's  right  eye  when  he  fled  from  Hades. 
So  was  the  moon  born  from  the  left  eye,  and  the  mischievous 
deity,  Take-haya-susa-no-o-Mikoto,  from  the  nose." 

^  "Izanagi  and  Izanami  are  evidently  creations  of  subsequent 
date  to  the  sun-goddess  and  other  concrete  deities,  for  whose 
existence  they  were  intended  to  account.  I  have  little  doubt 
that  they  were  suggested  by  the  Yin  and  Yang,  or  female  and  male 
principles  of  Chinese  philosophy.  Indeed,  there  is  a  passage  in 
the  Nihongi  in  which  these  terms  are  actually  applied  to  them. 
It  may  be  said,  and  Motoori  does  say,  that  the  Yin  and  Yang  are 
foreign  ideas  which  have  found  their  way  into  a  purely  native 
myth.     We  must  remember,  however,  that  the  Japanese  myths, 

57 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

that  Japanese  mythology  really  begins,  "  They 
created  or  produced  not  merely  the  islands  of 
Japan,  but  the  subsequent  generation  of  Japanese 
gods,  including  the  sun  and  the  moon,  and  from 
them  emanated  the  Mikado  and  people  of  Japan." 
In  the  Nihongi  we  are  told :  — 

"Izanagi  and  Izanami  stood  on  the  floating  bridge 
of  heaven,  and  held  counsel  together,  saying,  'Is 
there  not  a  country  beneath?'  Thereupon  they 
thrust  down  the  Jewel  Spear  of  Heaven  (Ame  no 
tama-boko),  and  groping  about  with  it,  found  the 
ocean.  The  brine  which  dripped  from  the  point  of 
the  spear  coagulated,  and  formed  an  island,  which 
received  the  name  of  Onogoro-jima  or  the  'Self- 
coagulating  Island.'  The  two  deities  thereupon  de- 
scended and  dwelt  there.  Accordingly  they  wished 
to  be  united  as  husband  and  wife,  and  to  produce 
countries.  So  they  made  Onogoro-jima  the  Pillar 
of  the  centre  of  the  land." 

Of  their  courtship  and  actions  the  language  is 
such  that  we  will  refrain  from  quoting ;  suffice  it  to 

as  we  have  them,  date  from  a  period  three  centuries  after  the 
introduction  of  Chinese  learning  into  Japan,  and  that  there  was 
communication  with  China  hundreds  of  years  earlier  still.  It 
would,  therefore,  not  be  strange  if  some  knowledge  of  the  fun- 
damental principle  of  Chinese  philosophy  and  science  had 
reached  the  Japanese  long  before  the  Kojiki  and  Nihongi  were 
written."  —  Aston,  "Shinto,"  p.  169. 

58 


SHINTOISM 

say  that  they  produced  islands  and  a  host  of  deities, 
and  in  giving  birth  to  the  God  of  Fire,  Izanami  died. 
Izanagi  in  his  wrath  cut  the  God  of  Fire  in  pieces, 
each  part  then  becoming  a  deity,  and  his  tears  pro- 
duced still  another.  He  descended  to  the  abode 
of  the  dead,  the  land  of  Yomi,  in  search  of  his  wife. 
The  following  is  the  account  of  his  visit :  — 

"Thereafter  Izanagi  went  after  Izanami,  and 
entered  the  land  of  Yomi.  When  he  rejoined  her, 
they  conversed  together.  Izanami  said:  'My  lord 
and  husband,  why  is  thy  coming  so  late?  I  have 
already  eaten  of  the  cooking-furnace  of  Yomi. 
But  I  am  about  to  lie  down  and  rest.  Do  not  thou 
look  on  me.'  Izanagi  did  not  give  ear  to  her,  but 
secretly  took  his  many-toothed  comb,  and  breaking 
off  its  end  tooth,  made  of  it  a  torch  and  looked  at  her. 
Her  body  was  already  putrid,  maggots  swarmed  over 
it,  and  the  eight  thunder  gods  had  been  generated 
in  her  various  members.  Izanagi,  greatly  shocked, 
exclaimed,  '  What  a  hideous  and  polluted  land  I  have 
come  to  unawares ! '  So  he  speedily  ran  away. 
Izanami  was  angry,  and  said :  '  Why  didst  thou  not 
observe  that  which  I  charged  thee  ?  Now  am  I  put 
to  shame.'  So  she  sent  the  Ugly  Females  of  Yomi 
to  pursue  and  slay  him.  Izanagi,  in  his  flight, 
threw  down  his  many-toothed  comb,  which  forth- 
with  became   changed   into   bamboo   shoots.     The 

59 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Ugly  Females  pulled  them  up  and  ate  them.  When 
they  had  done  eating  them,  they  again  gave  chase. 
He  then  threw  down  his  head-dress,  which  became 
changed  into  grapes,  and  so  once  more  delayed  his 
pursuers.  On  reaching  the  foot  of  the  'Even  Pass 
of  Yomi'  he  gathered  three  peaches  that  were 
growing  there,  and  smote  his  pursuers  with  them, 
so  that  they  all  fled  back.  Moreover,  he  said  to 
the  peaches,  'As  ye  have  helped  me,  so  must  ye 
help  all  living  people  in  the  Central  Land  of 
Reed-plains,  when  they  are  in  trouble.'  And  he 
gave  them  the  title  Oko-kamu-dzu-mi  no  mikoto 
(their  augustness  great  divine  fruit).  This  was  the 
origin  of  the  custom  of  exorcising  evil  spirits  by 
means  of  peaches. 

"At  the  Even  Pass  of  Yomi  Izanagi  was  over- 
taken by  Izanami  herself.  He  took  a  great  rock 
and  blocked  up  the  pass  with  it,  pronouncing  at 
the  same  time  the  formula  of  divorce ;  namely,  '  Our 
relationship  is  severed.'  He  also  said,  'Come  no 
farther '  and  threw  down  his  staff,  which  was  called 
Funado  no  Kami  (Pass-not-place-deity)  or  Kunado 
no  Kami  (Come-not-place-deity).  Moreover,  he 
threw  down  his  girdle,  which  was  called  Nagachiha 
no  Kami.  Moreover,  he  threw  down  his  upper 
garment  which  was  called  Wadzurahi  no  Kami 
(God  of  Disease).  Moreover,  he  threw  down  his 
trousers,   which   were   called    Aki-guhi   no    Kami. 

60 


SHINTOISM 

Moreover,  he  threw  down  his  shoes,  which  were 
called  Chi-shiki  no  Kami." 

On  his  return  he  at  once  proceeded  to  cleanse 
himself  by  bathing,  and  a  considerable  number  of 
deities  resulted,  notably,  the  sun-goddess,  from  the 
washings  of  his  left  eye,  and  the  moon-goddess  from 
those  of  his  right  eye. 

The  stories  of  the  strifes  and  successes  of  these 
beings  are  interesting,  but  for  them  we  have  no  time. 
A  grandson  of  the  sun-goddess  Ninigi  was  after  due 
preparation  sent  down  to  govern  the  world  (whether 
this  included  more  than  the  god-produced  islands  of 
Japan,  we  cannot  say;  though  probably  not,  and 
it  may  be  taken  to  mean  the,  to  them,  known 
^  world). 

His  descent  is,  of  course,  attended  with  much 
pomp  and  ceremony.  Difficulties  appear  and,  by 
the  intervention  of  other  gods,  are  overcome,  and 
Ninigi,  properly  heralded  and  attended  by  lesser 
deities,  duly  arrives  and  takes  up  his  duties,  and  his 
grandson  was  the  father  of  Jimnu  Tenno,  the  first 
human  sovereign  of  Japan.  As  is  well  known,  it 
is  hard  to  separate  myth  and  history,  to  tell  where 
the  former  ends  and  the  latter  begins.  It  seems 
very  evident  that  an  emperor  of  that  name  came  to 
Japan,  either  from  the  mainland,  or  from  a  more 
southern  to  the  central  island  and  finally  succeeded 

6i 


RELIGIONS  OF  EASTERN  ASIA 

in  conquering  the  whole.  Of  course,  many  of  the 
facts  of  the  earlier  narratives  are  covered  up  with 
mythical  and  impossible  stories,  as  might  be  expected 
in  records  handed  down  from  mouth  to  mouth,  but 
from  this  time  history  begins. 

The  emperor  is  then  a  direct  descendant  of  the 
sun-goddess,  his  nobles  and  other  princes  from  lesser 
deities,  and  in  fact  the  common  people  themselves 
are  asserted  to  be  of  divine  origin.  Thus  was  built 
up  a  system  calculated  to  flatter  the  pride  of  the  people 
and  to  hold  their  allegiance  to  the  reigning  monarch. 
Japan  is  a  peculiarly  favored  land  in  being  itself  the 
offspring  of  the  deities,  and  we  can  easily  see  how 
a  people  firmly  believing  this  would  look  down  upon 
other  lands,  and  would  be  fully  convinced  that  all 
other  nations  ought  to  be  willing  and  anxious  to 
yield  their  allegiance  to  this  divine  emperor. 

Of  course,  in  this  mythology  we  find  passages  that 
are  illogical,  for  it  is  clearly  intimated  that  the  sun 
itself  was  already  in  existence  in  the  earlier  times 
of  the  divine  genealogy,  and  yet  at  a  later  time 
"her  august  serenity"  the  sun  is  brought  forth.  Al- 
though such  illogical  statements  are  not  surprising 
to  us,  it  is  a  little  strange  that  the  Japanese  them- 
selves seem  to  pass  them  over  without  difficulty  or 
question. 

In  this  Shinto  pantheon,  then,  as  has  been  already 
said,  there  is  no  one  deity  to  whom  supreme  power 

62 


SHINTOISM 

or  wisdom  is  ascribed.  The  sun-goddess  *  certainly 
appears  to  be  the  most  important,  but  even  her  sway 
is  limited ;  she  has  control  neither  of  the  sea  nor  the 
nether  world,  and  when  her  brother  the  rain  god, 
Susanowo,  rebelled  against  her,  she  was  compelled 
to  take  refuge  in  a  cave,  which  certainly  eliminates 
the  idea  of  supreme  power.  Th.e_ti2tal  number  of 
gods  is  said  to  reach  over  eighty  thousand,  but  of 
these  it  must  be  remembered  that  many  must  be 
put  into  the  list  of  what  may  be  termed  "non-effective 

^  "  He  (the  priest-envoy)  says:  Hear  all  of  you,  ministers  of  the 
god  and  sanctifiers  of  offerings,  the  great  ritual,  the  heavenly 
ritual  declared  in  the  great  presence  of  the  From-Heaven-Shining- 
Great-Deity,  whose  praises  are  fulfilled  by  setting  up  the  stout 
pillars  of  the  great  House,  and  exalting  the  cross-beams  to  the 
plain  of  high  heaven  at  the  sources  of  the  Isuzu  River  at  Uji  in 
Watarai. 

"He  says:  It  is  the  sovereign's  great  Word.  Hear  all  of  you, 
ministers  of  the  gods  and  sanctifiers  of  offerings,  the  fulfilling  of 
praises  on  this  seventeenth  day  of  the  sixth  moon  of  this  year,  as 
the  morning  sun  goes  up  in  glory,  of  the  Oho-Nakatomi,  who  — 
having  abundantly  piled  up  like  a  range  of  hills  the  Tribute  thread 
and  sanctified  Liquor  and  Food  presented  as  of  usage  by  the 
people  of  the  deity's  houses  attributed  to  her  in  the  three  depart- 
ments and  in  various  countries  and  places,  so  that  she  deign  to 
bless  his  (the  Mikado's)  Life  as  a  long  Life,  and  his  Age  as  a 
luxuriant  Age,  eternally  and  unchangingly  as  multitudinous  piles 
of  rock;  may  deign  to  bless  the  Children  who  are  born  to  him, 
and  deigning  to  cause  to  flourish  the  five  kinds  of  grain  which 
the  men  of  a  hundred  functions  and  the  peasants  of  the  countries 
in  the  four  quarters  of  the  region  under  heaven  long  and  peacefully 
cultivate  and  eat,  and  guarding  and  benefiting  them  to  deign 
to  bless  them  —  is  hidden  by  the  great  offering-wands."  —  Grifi&s, 
"The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  48. 

63 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

gods,"  little  known  outside  of  the  mythological 
lists. 

These  deities  may  be  divided  into  several  classes, 
the  first  and  foremost  being  the  national  worship  * 
at  Ise  of  the  sun-goddess;  second,  the  deities  that 
preside  over  the  several  provinces  and  are  worshipped 
at  the  chief  shrines ;  third,  the  patrons  and  patron- 
esses of  the  various  mechanical  guilds;  fourth,  the 
family  gods  or  "ujigami,"  "  surname  gods " ;  and 
fifth,  the  house  deities  for  whom  shrines  are  erected 
in  each  home. 

There  are  many  who  have  striven  to  prove  that  the 
existence  of  this  fourth  class  of  gods  is  a  sign  of 
ancestral  worship,  but  those  who  so  believe  are  in 
the  main  either  natives  who  have  become  enamoured 
of  the  Chinese  classics,  or  foreigners  who,  starting 
out  with  the  preconceived  opinion  that  all  religion 
begins  with  ancestral  worship,  think  that  they  find 
proof  of  their  theory  here.  Those  ujigami  are  in 
reality  birthplace  deities  and  are  worshipped  as 
such. 

The  attributes  assigned  to  these  gods  are  force 

^  "There  is  a  modern  custom,  called  himachi  (sun- waiting),  of 
keeping  awake  the  whole  night  of  the  fifth  day  of  the  tenth  month 
in  order  to  worship  the  sun  on  his  rising.  The  rules  of  religious 
purity  must  be  observed  from  the  previous  day.  Many  persons 
assemble  at  Takanaha,  Uheno,  Atago,  and  other  open  places  in 
Tokio  to  worship  the  rising  Sun  on  the  first  day  of  the  year. 
This  is  called  hatsu  no  hi  no  de  (the  first  sunrise)."  —  Aston, 
"Shinto,"  p.  128. 

64 


SHINTOISM 

and  power.  Griffis  plainly  says  that  no  moral  char- 
acteristics whatever  attach  to  them.  Aston,  on  the 
other  hand,  finds  in  the  courage  and  forbearance  of 
the  sun-god  and  in  her  lo^•ing  care  for  mankind,  in 
preserving  for  their  use  the  seeds  of  grain  and  of  other 
vegetables,  elements  of  moral  character ;  also  in  the 
laws  that  were  prepared  in  the  earliest  times  for  the 
government  of  the  country,  as  evolved  from  primi- 
tive Shintoism,  he  sees  the  development  of  ethics, 
but  a  careful  study  of  these  laws  seems  to  show  that 
they  are  rather  promulgated  for  the  purpose  of  safe- 
guarding the  honor  either  of  the  gods  or  rulers  or 
for  the  benefit  of  society.  Punishments  ^  inflicted 
were  rather  those  which  would  tend  to  uphold  dig- 
nity which  had  been  dishonored  or  to  right  wrongs, 
and  were  apparently  in  no  way  punitive  or  condem- 
natory of  sin  as  such. 

The  gods  were  like  men  ^  in  their  nature.     There  \ 
were  gods  of  all  kinds.     "White  spirits  and  black;  ' 
blue  spirits  and  gray"  —  good  and  bad  of  all  shades 
of   principles  and  practice.     As  in  China,  so   here, 
there  are  even  gods  to  whom  robbers  and  harlots 
may  go  to  seek  a  fortunate  and  profitable  outcome  i 
in  their  evil  avocations. 

One  strange  feature  worth  noting  as  we  pass  is 
the  lack  of  personality  among  the  Japanese  deities. 

^  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  II,  No.  i. 
*  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  II,  No.  2. 

F  65 


RELIGIONS  OF  EASTERN  ASIA 

In  fact,  in  certain  places  the  identity  of  the  deity 
reverenced  at  a  shrine  has  been  lost,  and  it  is  sim- 
ply known  that  a  powerful  god  is  worshipped  there, 
and  even  to-day  scholarly  native  priests  differ  as  to 
the  identity  of  the  gods  at  certain  temples. 

This,  then,  is  a  bare  outline  of  what  for  a  better 
term  we  may  call  the  philosophy  of  Shintoism,  but 
this  philosophy  was  formulated,  as  we  have  seen,  for  a 
purpose,  just  after  the  introduction  of  Chinese  civili- 
zation and  letters  from  Korea.  At  the  same  time 
there  had  also  come  from  there  some  Buddhist 
relics  and  books,  whose  teachings  early  began  to  be 
regarded  with  favor.  It  was  not,  however,  till 
about  a  century  after  the  annals  above  referred  to 
had  been  drawn  up  that  Buddhism  made  her  great 
conquest.  As  we  shall  see  more  clearly  in  a 
subsequent  lecture,  Buddhism,  as  a  habit,  ever 
adapts  itself  to  existing  circumstances,  and  has 
shown  itself  ready  to  make  its  faith  conform  to  that 
of  the  land  to  which  it  goes  to  a  remarkable  extent 
or  perhaps,  like  the  many-armed  devil  fish,  to  en- 
velop, embrace,  and  in  the  end  to  digest  and  anni- 
hilate all. 

When  it  entered  Japan,  it  found  a  people  giving 
allegiance  quite  firmly  to  a  host  of  local  deities  and 
unattracted  to  the  foreign  ideas  which  had  been 
introduced.  After  even  more  than  a  century  had 
passed,  it  still  found  itself  confronted  on  all  sides  by 

66 


SHINTOISM 

native  shrines  and  gods.  It  was  at  about  this  time 
that  a  native  Buddhist  priest  who  had  been  sent  to 
China  to  study,  after  his  return,  while  in  the  cele- 
brated Shinto  temple  of  Ise,  professed  to  have  re- 
ceived a  special  revelation  whereby  the  sun-goddess 
showed  him  clearly  that  she  and  all  other  Shinto 
deities  were  but  previous  incarnations  or  avatars 
of  Buddha.  He  drew  up  his  scheme  of  reconcilia- 
tion between  Shintoism  and  Buddhism  whereby  all 
gods  of  the  former  were  introduced  into  the  latter 
and  also  adapted  all  the  old  Shinto  festivals  to  the 
requirements  of  the  proposed  union.  This  scheme 
having  been  adopted  throughout  the  land,  the  Shinto 
temples  were  largely  handed  oyer  to  the  care  of  the 
Buddhist  priests;  in  nearly  all  places  Buddhist 
idols  were  installed ;  the  form  of  the  primitive  Shinto 
shrines  was  largely  changed;  Buddhistic  decora- 
tions in  coloring  and  gilding  were  adopted,  and,  in 
fact,  we  might  also  say  that  Shintoism  was  com- 
pletely buried.  The  myths  and  stories  still  existed, 
but  as  a  distinct  religion  it  was  quiescent. 

This  condition  of  affairs  lasted  for  nearly  a  thou- 
sand years,  until  the  time  of  the  native  scholars 
Motoori  and  Hirata,  who,  with  others  at  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  and  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
centuries,  started  an  earnest  propaganda  for  the 
revival  of  pure  Shintoism.  Their  intention  in  all 
probability  was  rather  political  and  national  than 

67 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

religious,  and  these  efforts  may  be  said  to  have  cul- 
minated in  the  reestablishment  of  Shintoism  as 
the  national  faith.  At  this  time  the  Buddhist  idols 
were  almost  entirely  removed,  but  though  an  effort 
was  made  to  return  to  the  ancient  Shinto  simplicity, 
many  of  the  decorations  and  ornaments  may  still  be 
seen.  At  a  still  later  date  Shintoism  obtained  from 
the  government  the  right  to  be  considered  and  clas- 
sified no  longer  as  a  religion,  but  only  as  a  society 
for  preserving  the  memories  and  shrines  of  the  an- 
cestors of  the  race. 

It  can  readily  be  seen  how  such  a  conquest  by  a 
foreign  faith  must  at  least  have  colored  all  its  tenets, 
but  it  is  an  open  question  whether  Buddhism  in  thus 
swallowing  Shintoism  as  a  whole  had  a  greater 
effect  upon  the  original  Shinto  than  was  brought 
upon  itself  in  this  act. 

We  are  extremely  fortunate  in  having  the  Kojiki 
and  Nihongi,  though  the  latter  shows  very  many 
signs  of  the  influence  of  China  and  the  new  litera- 
ture, but  it  is  regrettable  that  we  have  absolutely  no 
Shinto  writer  till  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  myths  and  the  mythology  are,  we 
might  say,  intact,  or  at  least  almost  so,  but  it  seems 
very  evident  that  the  attempts  toward  a  revival  of 
pure  Shinto  were  not  entirely  successful,  and  the 
thoughts,  tenets,  and  practices  of  the  Shintoists  of 
to-day  have  all  been  considerably  affected  by  the 

68 


SHINTOISM 

Buddhistic  conquest,  and  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
say  where  Shinto  ends  and  Buddhism  begins. 
Let  us  now  turn  to  a  consideration  of  the 

Shinto  Worship  of  To-day 

The  number  of  shrines  throughout  the  land  is 
really  incalculable.  According  to  the  records  there 
are  two  hundred  and  ninety- two  of  the  first  rank, 
twenty-six  hundred  and  forty-eight  of  the  second 
rank,  and  when  all  classes  of  temples  are  included, 
the  recorded  alone  number  over  two  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  at  these  shrines  often  more  than  one  deity 
is  worshipped. 

In  these  Shinto  temples  that  which  represents  the 
deity,  the  "Shin  tai"  or  God  Body,  the  material 
impersonation  of  the  deity,  varies  greatly  in  form; 
it  is  most  frequently  a  mirror,  it  may  be  a  simple 
tablet  with  a  name  inscribed  thereon,  a  sprig  of  a 
bush  or  tree,  a  sword,  a  string  of  beads,  a  tree,  or  a 
river  bank. 

It  may  be  said  in  general  that  Shinto  has  no  real 
idols,  although  there  are  a  few  exceptions.  The 
phallic  gods  were  represented  by  phallic  symbols, 
as  well  as  by  the  human  figure,  and  in  certain  places 
stone  images  are  still  found  in  Shinto  temples.  But 
the  rule  is  that  a  distinctive  mark  of  the  Shinto  temple 
is  the  entire  absence  of  all  idols,  and  where,  in  the 

69 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

few  exceptions  noted  above,  such  exist,  the  presence 
in  front  of  the  temple  of  the  tori  or  pecuHar  gateway 
is  decisive. 

This  tori  or  toriwi  is  not  mentioned  at  all  in  the 
Kojiki  or  Nihongi,  and  is  held  by  Aston  to  be  of 
a  more  modern  date.  It  was  evidently  introduced 
from  the  continent  and  corresponds  to  the  Hong  Sal 
Mun  of  Korea  (red  arrow  gateway),  which  there 
marks  the  approach  to  Confucian  temples,  imperial 
graves,  and  ancestral  tablet  houses,  etc.,  and  it  is 
evidently,  as  Aston  says,  simply  an  honorary  gateway, 
marking  the  place  of  worship,  and  in  Japan  is  re- 
stricted to  this  Shinto  use. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  this 
absence  of  idols,  as  a  proof  that  as  a  rule  the  heathen 
in  his  worship  does  not  so  much  consider  the  seen 
object,  before  which  he  kneels,  as  the  god  itself,  but 
rather  as  the  place  of  abode  or  representation  of  the 
deity. 

The  phallic  worship  ^  just  referred  to,  of  course, 

^  "  Into  the  details  of  the  former  display  and  carriage  of  these 
now  obscene  symbols  in  the  popular  celebrations;  of  the  behavior 
of  even  respectable  citizens  during  the  excitement  and  frenzy 
of  the  festivals;  of  their  presence  in  the  wayside  shrines;  of  the 
philosophy,  hideousness,  or  pathos  of  the  subject,  we  cannot  here 
enter.  We  simply  call  attention  to  their  existence,  and  to  a  form 
of  thought,  if  not  of  religion,  properly  so-called,  which  has  sur- 
vived all  imported  systems  of  faith  and  which  shows  what  the 
native  or  indigenous  idea  of  divinity  really  is  —  an  idea  that 
profoundly  affects  the  organization  of  society.     To  the  enlightened 

70 


SHINTOISM 

will  not  bear  description  in  detail ;  but  that  it  formed 
no  small  element  in  Shinto  worship  may  be  plainly 
seen  from  the  prevalence  (until  forbidden  by  the 
government  in  more  recent  years)  of  phallic  symbols 
in  various  parts  of  the  land  and  evident  reference 
to  this  cult  throughout  the  Kojiki  and  the  Nihongi.^ 
Temples,  also,  where  phallic  deities  were  worshipped 
were  scenes  of  Bacchanalian  orgies  of  the  most  re- 
volting nature,  and  at  special  festivities  the  vilest  im- 
morality seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  worship. 
All  writers  on  the  religions  of  Japan  refer  to  this, 
but  feel  compelled  to  do  so  in  an  exceedingly  guarded 
way.  Not  only  were  these  temples  scenes  of  the 
grossest  immorality  but  also  most  other  temples. 
We  hesitate  to  refer  to  this,  but  the  real  state  of  af- 
fairs in  Japan  demands  at  least  a  reference  to  the 
prevailing  immorality  that  surrounds  almost  every 
temple  of  prominence.  Even  at  the  celebrated 
temple  of  Ise  itself  there  are  enormous  establish- 
ments for  immoral  traffic,  and  here  and  elsewhere 
in  Japan  where  pilgrims  by  tens  and  even  hundreds 
of  thousands  visit  the  shrines,  not  only  are  there 

Buddhist,  Confucian,  and  even  the  modern  Shintoist  the  phallus- 
worshipper  is  a  'heathen,'  a  'pagan,'  and  yet  he  still  practises 
his  faith  and  rites."  —  Grifl&s,  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  29. 

*  Certain  portions  of  these  native  books  with  their  mythologies 
would  not  bear  printing  in  civilized  countries,  nor  if  printed,  could 
they  pass  through  our  post-offices  unless  the  facts  were  covered 
by  the  use  of  Latin  terms  or  the  most  obscure  English. 

71 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

large  and  profitable  establishments,  but  even  the 
best  of  the  hotels  pander  to  it  openly  and  regularly 
up  to  to-day. 

A  more  elaborate  discussion  of  this  phallic  wor- 
ship may  be  found  in  various  books  treating  at  greater 
length  of  Japanese  customs. 

One  of  the  strongest  arraignments  that  can  be 
made  of  Shintoism  is  that  this  religion  itself  is  not 
openly  at  war  with  such  practices,  but  countenances 
and  encourages  these  actions  on  the  part  of  its 
devotees,  —  proving  only  too  plainly  that  were  the 
theistic  ideals  of  this  religion  higher,  such  a  relation 
between  worship  and  immorality  could  not  exist. 

While  the  Japanese  are  generally  looked  upon  as 
an  irreligious  people  and  by  some  classed  as  irrev- 
erent, this  may  be  said  to  be  largely  due  to  their 
buoyant  nature  and  the  freedom  with  which  they 
throw  off  care.  Any  one  who  has  visited  Japan 
and  seen  the  crowds  thronging  the  temples  on  festi- 
vals or  other  days,  who  has  witnessed  the  way  in 
which  at  the  rising  of  the  sun  all  turn,  and  clapping 
their  hands,  make  obeisance  to  her  august  majesty 
the  Queen  of  Day,  cannot  but  admit  that  they  are  a 
religious  people.  True  they  make  a  pleasure  out  of 
their  religion,  and  the  realities  of  life  and  death  do 
not  seem  to  weigh  heavily  upon  them,  but  still  they 
are  intensely  religious.  The  whole  land  covered 
with  shrines,  the  temples  on  every  high  hill  and 

72 


SHINTOISM 

promontory,  well-kept  altars  in  every  shop,  the 
flowers  freshly  kept,  and  the  clean  linen  of  the 
"domestic  god-shelf"  in  almost  every  home,  —  all 
attest  the  strong  native  religious  instinct. 

We  may  also  learn  much  of  their  attitude  toward 
their  gods  from  the  ceremonies  practised  and  the 
rituals  in  use  at  the  shrines  and  elsewhere.  Under 
certain  circumstances  and  for  certain  services  they 
have  the  ceremony  known  as  bringing  down  the  gods, 
when  with  priests  and  priestesses,  and  pronouncing 
of  certain  formulas,  the  god  is  asked  to  come  down 
and  take  up  his  abode  in  certain  representations 
or  offerings,  and  in  the  gohei-strips  of  colored  ma- 
terial, sometimes  carried  home  to  be  placed  on  the 
god-shelf. 

The  absence  of  all  idols  and  the  use  of  such  sym- 
bols and  ceremonies  shows  most  plainly  the  spiritual 
nature  of  the  Japanese  worship,  which  is  in  no  way 
militated  against  by  their  insistence  upon  the  ne- 
cessity for  the  presence  of  the  "Shin  tai,"  the  god- 
body  as  they  call  it. 

Prayers  form,  of  course,  a  large  element  in  their 
worship,  help  and  success  in  enterprise  is  earnestly 
sought,  and  the  particular  god  supposed  to  be  effi- 
cient in  the  enterprise  to  be  undertaken  is  invoked. 
The  ceremonies  for  purification  are  more  elaborate 
than  any  others,  and  vary  somewhat  with  the  kind 
and  amount  of  pollution  and  the  rank  of  the  deity 

73 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

approached.  A  very  careful  ritual  has  been  drawn 
up  to  be  used  at  the  end  of  the  year  for  driving  out 
demons  and  evil  gods,  as  well  as  the  deity  who  pre- 
sides over  ill  luck.  Sometimes  the  most  elaborate 
performances  are  indulged  in,  and  some  person, 
either  persuaded  or  hired  to  undertake  the  work, 
will  personify  the  deity  to  be  exorcised,  and  after 
elaborate  ceremonies,  and  with  a  show  of  great  diffi- 
culty, will  be  driven  from  the  house. 

Of  course,  offerings  of  all  kinds  are  made  to  the 
deities,  but  these  are  chiefly  thank-offerings  for  bene- 
fits received  and  sometimes  votive  offerings  for  bene- 
fits expected.  Daily  worship  is  prescribed  for  the 
faithful,  and  in  fact  very  elaborate  ceremonies  are 
insisted  upon,  although  a  shorter  ritual  has  been 
prepared  for  those  who  have  pressing  affairs  which 
take  up  their  time.  The  following  prayer  was  one 
suggested  by  Hirata  to  be  daily  offered  before  the 
domestic  god-shelf:  — 

"  Reverently  adoring  the  great  god  of  the  two  pal- 
aces of  Ise  in  the  first  place,  —  the  eight  hundred 
myriads  of  celestial  gods,  —  the  eight  hundred  myr- 
iads of  terrestrial  gods,  —  the  fifteen  hundred  myr- 
iads of  gods  to  whom  are  consecrated  the  great  and 
small  temples  in  all  provinces,  all  islands,  and  all 
places  of  the  Great  Land  of  Eight  Islands,  —  the 
fifteen  hundred  myriads  of  gods  whom  they  cause  to 

74 


SHINTOISM 

serve  them,  the  gods  of  branch  palaces  and  branch 
temples,  —  and  Sohodo-no-kami  whom  I  have 
invited  to  the  shrine  set  up  on  his  divine  shelf,  and 
to  whom  I  offer  praises  day  by  day,  —  I  pray  with 
awe  they  will  deign  to  correct  the  unwilling  faults 
which,  heard  and  seen  by  them,  I  have  committed, 
and  that,  blessing  and  favoring  me  according  to  the 
powers  which  they  severally  wield,  they  will  cause 
me  to  follow  the  divine  example,  and  to  perform 
good  works  in  the  Way." 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  before  we  pass  from  this 
subject  of  ceremonies,  that  human  sacrifices,  although 
referred  to  by  some,  seem  really  to  have  been  no  part 
of  Shinto  practices.  Though  in  the  oldest  times, 
from  the  records,  we  clearly  find  that  at  the  death 
of  mikados  and  princes  a  "Hitogaki,"  or  human 
hedge,  was  formed  around  the  grave  by  burying  alive 
a- large  number  of  attendants,  the  heads  alone  re- 
maining uncovered;  this  was  later  forbidden  ^  by 
special  edict  in  the  year  646  a.d.  and  instead  of  this 
human  hedge,  clay  images  were  substituted. 

From  their  rites  and  ceremonies  we  are  led  to 
believe  that  these  gods  were  considered  able  and 
willing  to  help  men,  but  unapproachable  at  times 
of  any  pollution  which  rendered  men  ceremonially 
unclean. 

^  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  II,  No.  3. 

75 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Ethical  and  spiritual  blessing  seem  nowhere  to 
have  been  sought,  and  while  in  a  few  cases  prayers 
are  found  asking  for  heart  purification/  these  are 
not  considered  real  Shinto,  but  indicate  Buddhist 
influence. 

Little  is  said  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul;  in 
fact  it  is  stated  that  this  is  nowhere  taught,  and  at- 
tention is  called  to  the  fact  that  there  are  "no  prayers 
for  the  dead  or  for  happiness  in  future  life."  ^ 

Certainly  the  land  of  Yomi  or  of  the  dead  is  plainly 
spoken  of,  but  again  there  have  not  been  wanting 
commentators,  who  have  affirmed  that  this  is  simply 
the  grave;  and  there  are  many  passages  in  ancient 
Japanese  books  that  would  give  color  to  such  a 
thought,  and  the  very  indefiniteness  of  the  Nihongi 
and  Kojiki  make  it  almost  impossible  to  decide. 

The  following  passage  from  the  Nihongi,  however, 

^ "  In  later  times  there  were  many  abuses  and  perversions  of  the 
harahi,  due  mainly  to  Buddhist  influence.  Theformulawas  much 
modified,  and  is  found  in  numerous  versions.  Some  of  these  are 
wholly  Buddhist,  such  as  the  well-known  'Rokkon  shojo'  (may 
the  six  senses  be  pure),  so  constantly  in  the  mouths  of  pilgrims 
at  this  day.  Others  include  a  prayer  for  purity  of  heart,  which 
is  an  idea  quite  foreign  to  the  ancient  Shinto."  —  Aston,  "Shinto," 

p.  304- 

^  Dr.  Knox  says,  p.  20:  "However,  the  funeral  rites  in- 
dicate a  belief  in  a  continued  existence  after  death  for  some  at 
least,  and  the  offerings  show  a  purpose  to  provide  for  wants  as 
material  as  those  of  earth.  Evidently  there  was  a  vague  belief 
that  the  dead  were  in  a  measure  dependent  on  the  living,  and 
that,  if  neglected,  the  living  might  suffer  from  their  vengeance." 

76 


S  H I  N  T  O  I  S  ]M 

certainly  shows  a  belief  in  knowledge  and  power  after 
death :  — 

"The  Yemishi  rebelled.  Tamichi  was  sent  to 
attack  them.  He  was  worsted  by  the  Yemishi  and 
slain  at  the  harbor  of  Ishimi.  Now  one  of  his 
followers  obtained  Tamichi's  armlet  and  gave  it  to 
his  wife,  who  embraced  the  armlet,  and  strangled 
herself.  When  the  men  of  that  time  heard  of  this, 
they  shed  tears.  After  this,  the  Yemishi  again  made 
an  incursion  and  dug  up  Tamichi's  tomb  upon 
which  a  great  serpent  started  up,  with  glaring  eyes, 
and  came  out  of  the  tomb.  It  bit  the  Yemishi,  who 
were  every  one  affected  by  the  serpent's  poison,  so 
that  many  of  them  died,  and  only  one  or  two  escaped. 
Therefore  the  men  of  that  time  said,  'Although  dead, 
Tamichi  at  last  had  his  revenge.  How  can  it  be  said 
that  the  dead  have  no  knowledge.'  "  * 

We  have  seen  that  the  religion  of  Shinto  is  ab- 
solutely devoid  of  any  code  of  ethics,  and  the  Shinto 
scholars  and  enthusiasts  insist  that  this  is  a  sign  of 
the  great  superiority  of  the  Japanese  over  the  Chi- 
nese and  others,  claiming  that  ethical  rules  and  codes 
are  a  necessity  among  wicked  people,  but  are  un- 
needed  by  the  Japanese,  who  are  pure  in  heart. 
"Revere  the  gods,  keep  the  heart  pure,  and  follow 
its  dictates"  is  a  rule  which  will  certainly  be  all  right, 

'Aston,  "Shinto,"  p.  55. 

77 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

if  the  standards  are  high  and  lofty,  and  there  is  a 
full  realization  of  what  a  pure  heart  is ;  but  with  the 
practices  of  their  highest  ideals,  their  gods  as  out- 
lined in  their  own  sacred  books,  their  "so-called 
Bible  of  Shinto"  in  as  low  a  plane  as  we  find  them, 
certainly  the  only  purity  of  heart  that  they  could 
conceive  could  not  be  so  defined  by  the  morally 
enlightened.  As  long  as  such  gods  as  these  are  re- 
vered, conduct  can  never  be  right.     Says  Dr.  Griffis : 

"The  Kojiki  shows  that  whatever  the  men  may 
have  been  or  done,  the  gods  were  abominably  ob- 
scene, and  both  in  word  and  deed  were  foul  and  re- 
volting, utterly  opposed  in  act  to  those  reserves  of 
modesty  or  standards  of  shame  that  exist  even 
among  the  cultivated  Japanese  of  to-day."  ^ 

The  references  already  made  to  certain  classes 
of  gods  and  the  surroundings  of  their  temples  have 
also  hinted  at  the  results  of  the  entire  lack  ^  of  any 

^  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  73. 

*  "  There  is  no  stronger  proof  of  the  rudimentary  character  of 
Shinto  than  the  exceedingly  casual  and  imperfect  sanction  which 
it  extends  to  altruistic  morality.  It  has  scarcely  anything  in  the 
nature  of  a  code  of  ethics.  Zeus  had  not  yet  wedded  Themis. 
There  is  no  direct  moral  teaching  in  its  sacred  books.  A  schedule 
of  offences  against  the  gods,  to  absolve  which  the  ceremony  of 
Great  Purification  was  performed  twice  a  year,  contains  no  one 
of  the  sins  of  the  Decalogue.  Incest,  bestiality,  wounding, 
witchcraft,  and  certain  interferences  with  agricultural  operations 
are  the  only  offences  against  the  moral   law   which  it  enumer- 

78 


S  H I  N  T  O  I  S  iSI 

code  of  ethics,  and  the  really  demoralizing  and  de- 
grading effect  of  much  of  the  native  worship. 

In  concluding  the  consideration  of  the  Shinto 
faith  and  practices,  let  me  quote  again  from  Dr. 
Griffis :  — 

"It  would  task  the  keenest  and  ablest  Shintoist 
to  deduce  or  construct  a  system  of  theology,  or  of 
ethics,  or  of  anthropology  from  the  mass  of  tradi- 
tion so  full  of  gaps  and  discord  as  that  found  in  the 
Kojiki,  and  none  have  done  it.  Nor  do  the  inac- 
curate, distorted,  and  often  almost  wholly  factitious 
translations  so-called  of  French  and  other  writers, 
who  make  versions  which  hit  the  taste  of  their 
occidental  readers  far  better  than  they  express  the 
truth,  yield  the  desired  information.  Like  the  end 
strands  of  a  new  spider's  web,  the  lines  of  informa- 
tion on   most  vital  points  are  still  'in  the  air.'  "^ 

ates.  The  Kojiki  speaks  of  a  case  of  homicide  being  followed 
by  a  purification  of  the  actor  in  it.  But  the  homicide  is  repre- 
sented as  justifiable,  and  the  offence  was  therefore  not  so  much 
moral  as  ritual.  Modern  Japanese  boldly  claim  this  feature 
of  their  religion  as  a  merit.  Motoori  thought  that  moral  codes 
were  good  for  Chinese,  whose  inferior  natures  required  such  arti- 
ficial means  of  restraint.  His  pupil  Hirata  denounced  systems  of 
morality  as  a  disgrace  to  the  country  which  produced  them. 
In  'Japan,'  a  recent  work  published  in  English  by  Japanese 
authors,  we  are  told  that  'Shinto  provides  no  moral  code,  and 
relies  solely  on  the  promptings  of  conscience  for  ethical  guidance.'  " 
—  Aston,  "Shinto,''  p.  242. 

^  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  71. 

79 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Speaking  on  this  subject  in  general,  a  recent  writer 
well  says :  — 

"Shinto,  the  primitive  religion  of  Japan,  corre- 
sponds well  with  the  needs  of  the  primitive  times, 
when  the  development  of  strong  communal  life 
was  the  prime  problem  and  necessity.  It  furnished 
the  religious  sanctions  for  the  social  order  in  its  cus- 
toms of  worshipping  not  only  the  gods,  but  also  the 
emperor  and  ancestors.  It  gave  the  highest  pos- 
sible justification  of  the  national  social  order  in  its 
deification  of  the  supreme  rulers.  Shinto  was  so 
completely  communal  in  its  nature  that  the  indi- 
vidual aspect  of  religion  was  utterly  ignored.  It 
developed  no  specific  moral  code,  no  eschatological 
and  soteriological  systems,  no  comprehensive  view 
of  nature  or  of  the  gods.  These  deficiencies,  how- 
ever, are  no  proofs  that  it  was  not  a  religion  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  term.  The  real  question  is, 
Did  it  furnish  any  supramundane,  supralegal, 
supracommunal  sanctions  both  for  the  conduct  of 
the  individual  in  his  social  relations  and  for  the  fact 
and  the  right  of  the  social  order  ?  Of  this  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  Those  who  deny  it  the  name  of  a 
religion  do  so  because  they  define  religion  according 
to  the  standards  of  its  highly  developed  individual- 
istic forms.^ 

^  "  Yet  Shinto  is  more  than  a  code  of  ceremonies,  for  in  a  true 
sense  it  embodies  the  religion  of  the  people.     Its  stories  of  the 

80 


SHINTOISM 

"The  sources  of  the  power  of  the  Shinto  sanctions 
lie  in*the  nature  of  its  conception  of  the  universe. 
Although  it  attempted  no  interpretatiom  of  the  uni- 
verse as  a  whole,  it  conceived  of  the  origin  of  the 
country  and  people  of  Japan,  as  due  to  the  direct 
creative  energy  of  the  gods."  ^ 

In  general,  speaking  of  this  faith,  we  would  note 
certain  deficiencies.  • 

First,  the  ideal  of  deities  is  extremely  imperfect, 
as  is  the  case  in  all  polytheisms.  As  has  been  al- 
ready noted,  the  records  of  Shintoism  were  avowedly 
prepared  for  a  specific  purpose,  not  religious  but 
political,  to  fit  which  the  stories  were  made.  Ethics 
and  the  moral  effect  upon  the  people  did  not  enter 
into  the  plan,  and  even  had  it  occurred  to  them,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  writers  would  have  thought  it 
worthy  of  consideration. 

The  second  great  defect  in  the  Shinto  theology 
comes  from  the  fact  that  it  only  considered  their  own 

gods  are  little  more  than  fairy  tales;  the  laborious  works  of  the 
great  scholars  who  attempted  to  maintain  its  inerrant  truthfulness, 
their  exegesis,  apologetics,  and  reconciliations,  merely  encumber 
the  shelves  of  antiquarian  scholars;  but,  none  the  less,  perhaps 
all  the  more,  Shinto  holds  large  place  in  the  people's  hearts.  The 
legends,  cosmology,  and  pseudo-history  are  not  the  religion,  and 
its  power  is  not  in  dogmas  nor  in  forms  of  worship;  it  is  a  spirit, 
the  spirit  of  old  Japan,  ' Yamato-damashii.'"  —  Knox,  "Religion 
in  Japan,"  p.  77. 

^  Gulick,  "Evolution  of  the  Japanese,"  p.  404. 

G  81 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

world  —  Japan.  They  and  their  people  were  divine, 
all  others  were  outside  of  the  pale.  While  tffis  has 
certainly  had  an  effect  in  developing  the  spirit  of  na- 
tionality, —  the  patriotism  and  loyalty  of  the  Jap- 
anese, —  it  has  also  had  a  very  decidedly  narrowing 
efifect,  that  of  isolating  the  nation.  It  was  this  very 
lack  that  caused  so  many  to  be  strongly  drawn  to 
the  monotheism  of  Christianity.  Many  of  the  con- 
verts to  Christianity  have  been  at  first  drawn  to  it 
by  this  feature.  They  have  realized  how  this  alone 
would  answer  the  requirements  of  exact  science,  and 
then,  too,  the  later  strong  tendencies  toward  monism 
seemed  to  find  satisfaction  in  the  monotheism  of 
Christianity. 

A  third  prominent  want  arises  directly  from  the 
first.  Low  ideas  of  the  deity  have  given  low  ideas 
of  man,  and  there  is  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the 
real  nature  of  sin.  We  are  told  that  there  is  no  word 
in  the  Japanese  language  which  will  adequately 
translate  the  word  "sin." 

Fourth.  Due  both  to  the  low  idea  of  the  deity, 
and  an  entire  absence  of  definiteness  in  regard  to 
eschatology,  there  is  no  concept  of  reward  and  pun- 
ishment for  the  actions  of  this  life,  and  no  adequate 
motive  which  might  lead  men  to  higher  ideals. 

Of  course  it  may  be  said  that  when  the  ideal  is 
lacking,  we  could  not  expect  any  motive  to  strive  for 
it,  and  as  has  been  noted,  the  very  penalties  recorded 

82 


SHINTOISM 

in  the  Shinto  books,  by  the  civil  authorities,  seemed 
in  no  way  punitive  or  corrective. 

There  are,  however,  certain  features  of  this  unique 
ethnic  faith  that  command  our  admiration. 

The  first  is  the  intense  spirit  of  loyalty  and  pa- 
triotism inculcated  and  fostered,  though  we  must 
always  remember  that  patriotism  carried  too  far 
becomes  selfishness.  To  no  little  extent,  however, 
were  the  successes  of  the  Japanese  in  the  late  war 
due  to  their  intense  loyalty  which  resulted  from  their 
conviction  that  they  were  divine,  fighting  for  a  sov- 
ereign not  the  mere  representation  of  deity,  but  even 
deity  himself. 

Secondly,  the  thought  that  their  country  was  in  a 
peculiar  way  a  special  creation  has  bred  an  intense 
love,  which  partakes  of  the  nature  of  worship  for 
their  beautiful  islands. 

A  third,  and  to  my  mind  the  best  point  of  Shinto, 
comes  in  the  idea  that  they  themselves  were  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  gods,  partakers  of  divine  nature; 
and  the  possibilities  of  such  a  conception,  had  they 
but  possessed  a  lofty  ideal  of  these  gods,  might  in- 
deed have  worked  wonders  for  the  whole  nation. 
The  concept  of  man  partaking  of  divine  nature 
was  indeed  theirs,  but  their  vision  of  the  deity  was 
clouded  with  sensuality  and  materialism,  and  there- 
fore low  and  degrading,  rather  than  uplifting  and 
inspiring. 

83 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

There  have  been  many,  both  natives  and  foreign- 
ers, who  have  insisted  that  Shintoism  is  not  a  re- 
ligion, and  the  recent  action  of  the  Shintoists  them- 
selves, referred  to  above,  might  lead  us  perhaps  at 
first  to  think  they  were  right,  but  a  careful  investi- 
gation of  its  origin,  history,  philosophy,  and  prac- 
tices must  lead  us  to  the  conclusion  not  only  that 
it  is  a  religion,  but  that  as  such  it  has  wielded  con- 
siderable influence  upon  the  life  and  habits  of  the 
people.  A  religion  arising  in  the  earliest  times, 
to  be  absorbed  by  a  foreign  faith,  to  lie,  as  it  were, 
dormant  for  almost  a  thousand  years  and  then  again 
to  emerge,  shows  no  small  vitality. 

True,  nominally,  it  may  no  longer  now  be  regarded 
as  a  religion,  and  imperial  rescript,  granting  the  re- 
quest of  its  leaders,  may  have  ordered  that  it  be  no 
longer  so,  but  I  believe  this  will  in  no  way  affect  its 
hold  upon  the  nation.  Its  votaries  still  throng  its 
shrines,  and  as  each  approaches  the  temple,  the  con- 
stant ring  of  the  bell  as  he  pulls  the  rope  to  announce 
to  the  deity  that  he  is  at  his  devotions  will  still  be 
heard,  and,  whether  so  called  or  not,  Shintoism  will 
still  be  classed  as  a  religion  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people. 

When  we  have  studied  this  one  ethnic  faith  of 
Japan,  studied  her  people  and  their  history,  we  can 
reach  only  one  conclusion  as  to  the  theism  it  incul- 
cated.    They  know  no  supreme  god  but  their  coun- 

84 


SHINTOISM 

try.  Its  land,  its  water,  its  people,  its  government, 
its  glory,  its  mikado,  is  their  chief  object  of  worship 
for  which  all  else  is  and  should  be  sacrificed.  The 
Christian  propagandist,  studying  them,  may  well 
rejoice  to  find  a  people  capable  of  loving  and  wor- 
shipping something  unselfishly,  whole-heartedly,  per- 
sistently, with  abandon,  with  reverence,  with  un- 
limited consecration  and  devotion.  This,  and  the 
assurance  that  they  are  the  offspring  of  God,  gives 
him  an  assurance  of  ground  all  prepared  for  his 
sowing.  It  were  an  easy  matter  to  a  Japanese  to 
understand  the  value  and  glory  and  preeminent 
importance  of  the  kingdom.  He  would  count  his 
life  as  nothing  for  the  kingdom  of  Japan,  and  when 
he  once  learns  that  there  is  a  higher  and  more  glori- 
ous, a  spiritual  kingdom,  which  Japan  may  merely 
illustrate  in  a  material  way,  he  will  transfer  to  this 
all  the  persistent  adoration  he  has  poured  forth  on 
its  type.  When  he  receives  a  sublime  ideal  of  God, 
the  thought  of  his  own  sonship,  his  imitative  char- 
acteristics, with  his  soaring  pride  and  ambition,  will 
never  allow  him  to  cease  striving  for  the  likeness  of 
the  Father.  With  false  traditions  and  low  ideals 
these  noble  people  have  been  led  far  astray,  but 
there,  in  the  midst  of  an  unholy  and  polluted  poly- 
theism, is  the  jewel  of  reverence,  whole-souled  de- 
votion, and  passionate  adoration,  only  waiting  to 
adorn  the  coming  of  the  Redeemer. 

85 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Let  me,  in  closing,  quote  Mr.  Aston's  remarks  on 
monotheism  in  this  connection :  — 

"Monotheism  was  an  impossibility  in  ancient 
Japan.  But  we  may  trace  certain  tendencies  in  this 
direction  which  are  not  without  interest.  A  nation 
may  pass  from  polytheism  to  monotheism  in  three 
ways:  firstly,  by  singling  out  one  deity,  and  caus- 
ing him  to  absorb  the  functions  and  the  worship  of 
the  rest;  secondly,  by  a  fresh  deification  of  a  wider 
conception  of  the  universe;  and  thirdly,  by  the  de- 
throning of  the  native  deities  in  favor  of  a  single  God 
of  foreign  origin.  It  is  this  last,  the  most  usual 
fate  of  polytheisms,  which  threatens  the  old  gods 
of  Japan.  Weakened  by  the  encroachments  of 
Buddhism,  and  the  paralyzing  influence  of  Chinese 
sceptical  philosophy,  they  already  begin  to  feel 
*The  rays  of  Bethlehem  blind  their  dusky  eyne.' " ' 

APPENDICES  TO  LECTURE  II 

Appendix  No.  i,  P.  65 

In  his  "  Shinto,"  p.  246,  Aston  says:  "In  an  organ- 
ized community  like  the  ancient  Japanese  there  must 
have  been  many  torts  recognized  by  public  opinion. 
We  know  that  adultery  and  dishonesty  were  punish- 
able. Yet  Shinto  takes  no  notice  of  them.  The  only 
civil  wrongs  singled  out  for  reUgious  denunciation  re- 

1  "Shinto,"  p.  68. 

86 


SHINTOISM 

late  to  agriculture.  The  ancient  authorities  enumerate 
among  the  misdeeds  of  Susa  no  wo,  '  breaking  down  the 
divisions  of  rice  fields,'  'filling  up  irrigation  ditches,' 
'sowing  seed  over  again,'  with  one  or  two  other  of- 
fences of  a  similar  kind,  and  the  Ohoharahi  includes 
them  in  its  schedule  of  sins  which  require  absolution. 
But  surely  rights  of  property  (we  can  recognize  germs 
of  them  in  the  lower  animals)  are  long  antecedent  to 
religion,  and  offences  against  them  are  recognized  as 
offences  against  man  before  they  became  sins  against 
God. 

"Moreover,  the  Ohoharahi  is  wanting  in  the  first 
essential  of  a  criminal  law.  It  provides  no  fixed  puni- 
tive sanction.  It  is  true  that  the  culprit  was  in  some 
cases  obliged  to  supply  at  his  own  cost  the  necessary 
offerings  for  the  ceremony,  and  that  practically  this 
amounted  to  a  fine.  The  original  intention,  however, 
was  not  to  punish  the  offender,  but  to  avert  the  wrath 
of  the  gods.  And  it  must  be  remembered  that  indi- 
vidual cases  of  purification  were  exceptional.  For 
the  offences  of  the  nation  generally,  which  it  was  the 
main  object  of  the  Ohoharahi  to  absolve,  no  punish- 
ment was  practicable,  or  indeed  dreamed  of." 

Appendix  No.  2,  P.  65 

In  his  "Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  70,  Griffis  says:  "The 
gods  are  only  men  of  prowess  or  renown.  A  kami  is 
anything  wonderful,  —  god  or  man,  rock  or  stream, 
bird  or  snake,  whatever  is  surprising,  sensational,  or 
phenomenal,  as  in  the  little  child's  world  of  to-day. 
There  is  no  sharp  line  dividing  gods  from  men,  the 
natural  from  the  supernatural,  even  as  with  the  normal 

87 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

uneducated  Japanese  of  to-day.  As  for  the  kami  or 
gods,  they  have  all  sorts  of  characters;  some  of  them 
being  rude  and  ill-mannered,  many  of  them  beastly 
and  filthy,  while  others  are  noble  and  benevolent. 
The  attributes  of  moral  purity,  wisdom  and  holiness, 
cannot  be,  and  in  the  original  writings  are  not,  ascribed 
to  them;  but  they  were  strong  and  had  power.  In  so 
far  as  they  had  power  they  were  called  kami  or  gods, 
whether  celestial  or  terrestrial.  Among  the  kami  — 
the  one  term  under  which  they  are  all  included  — 
there  were  heavenly  bodies,  mountains,  rivers,  trees, 
rocks,  and  animals,  because  these  also  were  supposed 
to  possess  force,  or  at  least  some  kind  of  influence  for 
good  or  evil.  Even  peaches,  as  we  have  seen,  when 
transformed  into  rocks,  became  gods." 

That  there  was  worship  with  awe,  reverence,  and 
fear,  and  that  the  festivals  and  sacrifices  had  two 
purposes,  one  of  propitiating  the  offended  kami  and 
the  other  of  purifying  the  worshipper,  may  be  seen  in 
the  merits  or  liturgies,  some  of  which  are  exceedingly 
beautiful.  In  them  the  feelings  of  the  gods  are  often 
referred  to.  Sometimes  their  characters  are  described. 
Yet  one  looks  in  vain  in  either  the  "  Notices,"  poems,  or 
liturgies  for  anything  definite  in  regard  to  these  deities, 
or  concerning  morals  or  doctrines  to  be  held  as  dogmas. 
The  first  gods  come  into  existence  after  evolution  of  the 
matter  of  which  they  are  composed  has  taken  place. 
The  later  gods  are  sometimes  able  to  tell  who  are 
their  progenitors,  sometimes  not.  They  live  and  fight, 
eat  and  drink,  and  give  vent  to  their  appetites  and 
passions,  and  then  they  die;  but  exactly  what  becomes 
of  them  after  they  die,  the  record  does  not  state. 

88 


SHINTOISM 

Appendix  No.  3,  P.  75 

The  following  quotation  from  the  Nihongi  shows 
how  human  sacrifices  were  abolished  (Aston,  "Shinto," 
p.  56):- 

"loth  month,  5th  day:  Yamato-hiko,  the  Mikado's 
younger  brother  by  the  mother's  side,  died. 

"  nth  month,  2d  day.  Yamato-hiko  was  buried  at 
Tsukizaka  in  Musa.  Thereupon  his  personal  attend- 
ants were  assembled,  and  were  all  buried  alive  upright 
in  the  precinct  of  the  tomb.  For  several  days  they 
died  not,  but  wept  and  wailed  day  and  night.  At  last 
they  died  and  rotted.  Dogs  and  crows  gathered  and 
ate  them. 

"The  Emperor,  hearing  the  sound  of  their  weeping 
and  waiUng,  was  grieved  at  heart,  and  commanded  his 
high  officers,  saying,  'It  is  a  very  painful  thing  to 
force  these  whom  one  has  loved  in  life  to  follow  him 
in  death.  Though  it  be  an  ancient  custom,  why  fol- 
low it  if  it  is  bad?  From  this  time  forward,  take  coun- 
sel so  as  to  put  a  stop  to  the  following  of  the  dead.' 

"a.d.  3,  7th  month,  6th  day.  The  Empress  Hi- 
basuhime  no  Mikoto  died.  Sometime  before  the  burial 
the  Emperor  commanded  his  ministers,  saying:  'We 
have  already  recognized  that  the  practice  of  following 
the  dead  is  not  good.  What  should  now  be  done  in 
performing  this  burial?'  Thereupon  Nomi  no  Su- 
kune  came  forward  and  said:  'It  is  not  good  to  bury 
living  men  upright  at  the  tumulus  of  a  prince.  How 
can  such  a  practice  be  handed  down  to  posterity?  I 
beg  leave  to  propose  an  expedient  which  I  will  submit 
to  your  Majesty.'     So  he  sent  messengers  to  summon 

89 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

up  from  the  land  of  Idzumo  a  hundred  men  of  the  clay- 
workers  Be.  He  himself  directed  the  men  of  the  clay- 
workers  Be  to  take  clay  and  form  therewith  shapes  of 
men,  horses,  and  various  objects,  which  he  presented 
to  the  Emperor,  saying,  'Henceforward,  let  it  be  the 
law  for  future  ages  to  substitute  things  of  clay  for 
living  men,  and  to  set  them  up  at  tumuli.'  Then 
the  Emperor  was  greatly  rejoiced,  and  commanded 
Nomi  no  Sukune,  saying:  'Thy  expedient  hath  greatly 
pleased  our  heart.'  So  the  things  of  clay  were  first 
set  up  at  the  tomb  of  Hibasuhime  no  Mikoto.  And 
a  name  was  given  to  those  clay  objects.  They  were 
called  'haniwa,'  or  'clay  rings.' 

"Then  a  decree  was  issued,  saying,  'Henceforth  these 
clay  figures  must  be  set  up  at  tumuli;  let  not  men  be 
harmed.'  The  Emperor  bountifully  rewarded  Nomi 
no  Sukune  for  this  service,  and  also  bestowed  on  him 
a  kneading-place,  and  appointed  him  to  the  ofiicial 
charge  of  the  clayworkers  Be.  His  original  title  was 
therefore  changed,  and  he  was  called  Hashi  no  Omi. 
This  was  how  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Hashi  no 
Muraji  superintended  the  burials  of  the  Emperors." 

We  also  find  evidences  of  human  sacrifices  made 
to  river-gods  so  as  to  appease  the  deity  presiding  there, 
and  prevent  the  overflow  of  his  banks.  The  following 
quotation  from  the  same  book  is  a  good  instance  of  this 

(p.  29):  — 

"a.d.  379.  This  year  at  a  fork  of  the  River  Kaha- 
shima  in  the  central  division  of  the  Province  of  Kibi, 
there  was  a  great  water  dragon,  which  harassed  the 
people.     Now  when  travellers  were  passing  that  place 

90 


SHINTOISM 

on  their  journey  they  were  sure  to  be  affected  by  its 
poison,  so  that  many  died.  Hereupon  Agatamori,  the 
ancestor  of  the  Omi  of  Kasa,  a  man  of  fierce  temper 
and  of  great  bodily  strength,  stood  over  the  pool  of 
the  river  fork  and  flung  into  the  water  three  whole 
calabashes,  saying:  'Thou  art  continually  belching  up 
poison  and  therewithal  plaguing  travellers.  I  will  kill 
thee,  thou  water  dragon.  If  thou  canst  sink  these 
calabashes,  then  will  I  take  myself  away,  but  if  thou 
canst  not  sink  them,  then  will  I  cut  thy  body  to  pieces.' 
Now  the  water  dragon  changed  itself  into  a  deer,  and 
tried  to  draw  down  the  calabashes,  but  the  calabashes 
would  not  sink.  So  with  upraised  sword  he  entered 
the  water  and  slew  the  water  dragon.  He  further 
sought  out  the  water  dragon's  fellows.  Now  the  tribe 
of  all  the  water  dragons  filled  a  cave  at  the  bottom 
of  the  pool.  He  slew  them  every  one,  and  the  water 
of  the  river  changed  to  blood.  Therefore  the  water 
was  called  the  pool  of  Agatamori.  .  .  . 

"a.d.  323.  In  order  to  prevent  the  overflowing  of 
the  Northern  River,  the  Mumata  embankment  was 
constructed.  At  this  time  there  were  two  parts  of 
the  construction  which  gave  way  and  could  not  be 
stopped  up.  Then  the  Emperor  had  a  dream,  in  which 
he  was  admonished  by  a  God,  saying:  'There  are  a 
man  of  Musashi  named  Koha-kubi  and  a  man  of  Kah- 
achi  named  Koromo  no  ko,  the  Muraji  of  Mamuta. 
Let  these  two  men  be  sacrificed  to  the  River-God  and 
thou  wilt  surely  be  able  to  close  the  gaps.'  So  he  sought 
for  these  two  men,  and  having  found  them,  offered  them 
to  the  River-God.  Hereupon  Koha-kubi  wept  and 
lamented,  and  plunging  into  the  water,  died.     So  that 

91 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

embankment  was  completed.  Koromo  no  ko,  however, 
took  two  whole  calabashes,  and  standing  over  the  water, 
which  could  not  be  dammed,  plunged  the  two  calabashes 
into  the  mid-stream  and  prayed,  saying:  '  O  thou  River- 
God,  who  hast  sent  the  curse  (to  remove  which)  I  have 
now  come  thither  as  a  sacrifice.  If  thou  dost  persist 
in  thy  desire  to  have  me,  sink  these  calabashes,  and  let 
them  not  rise  to  the  surface.  Then  shall  I  know  that 
thou  art  a  true  God,  and  will  enter  the  water  of  mji. 
own  accord.  But  if  thou  canst  not  sink  the  calabashes, 
I  shall,  of  course,  know  that  thou  art  a  false  God,  for 
whom  why  should  I  spend  my  life  in  vain  ? '  Here- 
upon a  whirlwind  arose  suddenly  which  drew  with  it 
the  calabashes  and  tried  to  submerge  them  in  the  water. 
But  the  calabashes  dancing  on  the  waves  would  not 
sink,  and  floated  far  away  over  the  wide  waters.  In 
this  way  that  embankment  was  completed,  although 
Koromo  no  ko  did  not  die.  Accordingly  Koromo  no 
ko's  cleverness  saved  his  life.  Therefore  the  men  of 
that  time  gave  a  name  to  these  two  places,  calling  them 
*  Koha-kubi's  Gap'  and  '  Koromo  no  ko's  Gap.'  " 


92 


LECTURE   III 

The  Shamanism  of  Korea 

We  have  studied  the  Taoism  of  China  and  the 
Shintoism  of  Japan,  and  now  turn  to  the  last  of  the 
three  specifically  ethnic  religions.     The  word  "Sha- 
man" is  a  Persian  word,  meaning  "an  idolater,"  but 
has  become  more  particularly  restricted  to  those  who, 
',   in  a  peculiar  way,  profess  that  by  the  use  of  fetiches, 
charms,  and  other  supposed  means  of  influence  over 
,  spirits  and  demons,  they  can  cure  diseases  and  avert 
impending    disaster.     They    are    sometimes    called 
-  devil-doctors,  and  the  term  "Shamanism"  has  come 
.  to  be  applied  to  that  system  which  especially  is 
\  restricted  to  these  practices. 

I      As  we  shall  soon  see,  the  nature- worship  of  Korea, 

^  which  seems  to  be  indigenous,  for  certain  reasons  has 

'  remained  up  to  this  date  so  little  developed,  and 

■'has  along  certain  lines  been  so  largely  superseded 

■  by  the  two  foreign  religions  later  introduced,  that 

'  to  the  stranger  the  Pansus  (diviners)  and  Mutangs 

(sorceresses),  the  real  "Shamans"  of  Korea,  appear 

so  prominent,  and  their  works  by  divination  and 

exorcising  so  common,  that  this  term  has  been  the 

one  most  generally  applied  to  this  indigenous  faith. 


RELIGIONS  OF  EASTERN  ASIA 

As  in  China,  so  here,  the  native  will  tell  you 
that  there  are  three  religions  in  this  land,  mention- 
ing in  addition  to  Buddhism  and  Confucianism  this, 
which  he  calls  "Shin  Kyo,"  or  the  doctrine  of  the 
gods  or  spirits,  —  being  the  characters  "Shin,"  the 
same  as  used  in  Shinto,  and  "Kyo,"  or  teaching; 
and  they  occasionally  even  call  it  "  Shinto,"  —  speak- 
ing of  Kong-to  Confucianism,  Pul-to  Buddhism,  and 
Shin-to  Spiritism.  As  we  shall  see,  there  are  other 
than  Shamanistic  elements  in  the  Shinto  of  Korea, 
but  to  the  Korean  the  everyday  evils  of  this  life  are 
so  overshadowing,  and  his  struggles  to  escape  them 
>  so  evident,  that  we  yield  to  the  common  verdict  at 
this  point,  and  allow  this  nature-worship  to  be  called 
by  this  term,  by  which  it  is  in  part  characterized,  and 
in  reality  caricatured. 

But  right  here  let  us  stop  for  a  moment,  and  note 
the  comparative  development  of  nature-worship  in 
the  three  countries. 

China,  as  we  have  seen,  had  wandered  away  from 
her  primitive  faith,  and  had  developed  a  nature- 
worship  which,  in  its  extravagances,  met  with  the 
protests  of  both  Lao-tsze  and  Confucius,  but  was 
just  ready  for  its  systematization  when,  by  the  en- 
trance of  Buddhism,  there  was  presented  a  fully 
developed  religion,  and,  by  what  has  been  termed 
a  species  of  "plagiarism,"  the  Taoist  built  up  a 
hierarchy  and  a  systematized  cult  after    the  pat- 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

tern  of  Buddhism,  and  side  by  side  the  two  have 
stood. 

In  Japan,  however,  we  found  a  different  state  of 
affairs,  due  very  largely  to  the  different  stage  of  de- 
velopment at  which  Shintoism  came  in  contact  with 
the  faith  of  India.  The  nature-worship  of  Japan 
had  been  allowed  a  further  development  before  the 
arrival  of  Buddhism,  and  this  arrival  synchronized 
with  the  necessity,  as  we  saw,  of  establishing  a  raison 
d'etre  for  the  conquerors  and  the  reigning  house. 

As  these  conquerors  were  by  this  time  (even  though 
perhaps  originally  from  across  the  waters)  native 
Japanese  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  this  could  not 
be  done  through  a  foreign  religion,  and  the  indige- 
nous myths  and  stories  were  threaded  into  a  whole, 
and  the  native  faith  systematized.  True,  it  was  later 
modified  by  the  foreign  religion,  which  entered,  and 
was,  as  we  saw,  almost  absorbed  by  it,  although  it 
still  maintained  its  identity.  As  a  consequence,  we 
find  a  religion  which,  although  very  largely  af- 
fected by  the  doctrines,  precepts,  and  practices  of 
Buddhism,  has  been  developed  along  its  own  lines, 
and  is  sui  generis. 

Buddhism,  however,  entered  Korea  at  an  earlier 
date,  Buddhist  monks  having  arrived  at  least  as 
early  as  372  a.d.  At  this  time  the  nature-worship 
was  still  undeveloped,  and  the  natives,  being  pre- 
sented with   the  fully  organized,   well-systematized 

95 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

'  religion  of  Buddhism,  failed  to  develop  their  own 
Shinto,  and  we  have  a  case  of  arrested  development 
in  the  Shamanism  of  Korea.  There  is  here  no  hie-^ 
rarchy,  no  organized  priesthood  —  in  fact,  we  have 
independency,  a  sort  of  Congregationalism,  carried 
to  the  extreme.  There  has  been  individualistic 
development  here  in  striking  contrast  with  the 
communal  development  of  Japan's  Shinto,  which 
centres  in  the  Mikado  himself. 

And  now,  in  order  better  to  understand  the  condi- 
tions as  we  find  them  to-day,  let  us,  before  going 
farther,  try  to  ascertain  the  primitive  faith  of  Korea. 
Here  we  have   better  opportunities  than  in  the 
study  of  early  Japan,  and  we  ought  to  expect  larger 
results.     Not   only  were  letters  and  civilization  in- 
troduced from  China,  but  we  are  told  in  the  histories 
t  that  when  Kija,  who  is  looked  upon  by  all  Korea  as 
[the  great  founder  of  its  civilization,  entered  in  1122 
*  B.C.    (a  date  confirmed  by  both  the  Chinese  and 
Korean  state  records),  he  found  a  species  of  civiliza- 
tion, and  it  is  affirmed  that  he  reduced  the  language 
of  the  people  to  writing.     As  to  what  this  writing 
was,  we  cannot  state,  as  there  are   no    specimens 
of  it  extant,  unless  it  was  the  fact  that  he  intro- 
duced the  ideographs  of  his  own  country,  China, 
and  adapted  them  to  the  needs  of  these  people. 
While  this  does  not  comport  with  the  statement  as 
to  the  ease  with  which  the  natives  learned  to  read 

96 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

and  write,  I  think  it  the  more  probable,  and  that 
later  writers  somewhat  exaggerated  the  skill  of  the 
Koreans. 

As  a  consequence,  we  have  documents  of  much 
greater  antiquity,  and  these  were  very  early  collected 
and  carefully  preserved  in  libraries.  It  may  be 
said  that  as  poor  Korea  has  been  the  battle-ground 
of  many  of  the  strifes  of  Asia,  such  libraries  would 
probably  have  been  destroyed;  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  nations  who  made  it  the  scene 
of  their  conquests,  if  not  themselves  makers  of  lit- 
erature, at  least  held  it  in  great  respect  and  awe, 
and  left  these  libraries  uninjured. 

A  French  savant,  Monsieur  Maurice  Courant,  at- 
tached to  the  French  legations  in  Japan  and  Korea, 
did  good  work  some  ten  years  ago,  when  he  pub- 
lished his  "Bibliographic  Coreene,"  which  purports 
to  be  a  catalogue  of  all  the  works  published  in  Korea 
up  to  the  year  1890,  together  with  a  description  and 
a  brief  analysis  of  the  more  important.  In  his  in- 
troduction to  these  volumes  he  says:  "She  [Korea] 
is  worthy  of  an  interest  of  another  kind  than  that 
which  her  political  difficulties  have  drawn  upon  her 
by  the  special  part  she  has  played  in  the  civilization 
of  the  Far  East."  He  also  calls  attention  to  the 
quality  of  the  paper,  and  to  the  method  of  printing, 
alleging  that  "while  at  first,  copying  the  Chinese, 
they  printed  from  wooden  blocks,  they  soon  im- 
H  97 


RELIGIONS  OF  EASTERN  ASIA 

proved  upon  this,  not  only  leaving  China  behind, 
but  even  antedating  Europe  itself."  As  early  as 
1403  A.D.  the  Emperor  of  Korea,  Tai  Jong,  issued 
a  decree  ordering  the  founding  of  a  large  quantity 
of  copper  type  in  order  "to  extend  the  diffusion  of 
books,"  adding  these  words:  "This  will  be  of  incal- 
culable advantage;  as  to  the  cost  of  this  work,  it 
ought  not  to  be  borne  by  the  people,  but  will  be  a 
charge  on  the  treasury  of  the  palace." 

The  extreme  care  that  was  exercised  by  such  pa- 
trons of  literature  in  conjunction  with  the  remarkable 
and  magnificent  quality  of  their  ancient  wood-fibre 
paper,  have  preserved  for  us  documents  the  full 
value  of  which  it  is  as  yet  impossible  to  compute, 
for  but  few  of  them  have  thus  far  been  perused,  but 
we  may  well  hope  the  libraries  thus  jealously  guarded, 
it  would  seem  providentially,  in  this  quiet  corner  of 
the  world,  may  reveal  many  of  the  most  important 
and  long-sought  secrets  of  the  early  ages  of  the  East. 

As  to  the  reliability  of  the  dates  in  these  records, 
we  are  materially  assisted  by  their  reference  in  most 
cases  to  the  existing  Chinese  dynasty  of  the  corre- 
sponding period,  as  well  as  by  the  fact  that  the  solar 
eclipses  occurring  during  each  are  usually  recorded, 
and  coincide  with  the  records  of  science.  It  is  in- 
tensely interesting  to  note  that  even  in  the  earliest 
of  these  records  no  surprise  or  superstitious  fear  of 
the  eclipse  is  mentioned,  leading  us  to  believe  that 

98 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

among  the  educated  at  least  they  were  understood. 
Not  only  have  we  hopes  of  large  results  from  these 
records  made  with  ink  and  paper,  but  we  have  still 
older  records  in  the  ancient  monuments  of  stone. 

With  all  this  valuable  data  before  us  it  certainly 
seems  that  we  who  are  on  the  spot  ought  to  have 
done  much  already  in  the  way  of  translating  and 
opening  to  the  world  these  possible  treasure-houses 
of  ancient  lore.  We  realize  that  more  ought  to  have 
been  done  in  the  past  twenty  years  during  which 
Korea  has  been  open,  but  we  must  not  forget  that  it 
is  still  a  new  land,  and  those  who  have  proficiency  in 
the  language  have  been  absolutely  unable  to  cope 
with  the  ever  increasing  demand  for  the  translations 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  for  language  helps 
in  the  preparation  of  text-books  and  religious  litera- 
ture. 

A  beginning  at  least  has  been  made  by  those  who 
are  on  the  field,  notably  by  Professor  H.  B.  Hulbert, 
who  has  been  indefatigable  in  his  researches  and  has 
prepared  several  books,  by  Dr.  J,  S.  Gale,  and  the 
aforementioned  Monsieur  Courant.  While  these 
scholars  have  been  hampered  by  difficulty  of  access 
to  most  of  the  old  manuscripts,  perseverance  and 
time  will,  we  hope,  give  richer  results;  yet  despite 
the  fact  that  so  little  has  been  done,  there  are  cer- 
tain data  from  which  perhaps  v;e  shall  be  able  to  y  / 
draw  conclusions  as  to  the  primitive  faith  of  Korea. 

99  ^ 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

As  our  primary  source  of  information,  let  us  note 
the  kind  of  monuments  found  here,  which  bear  upon 
this  and  which  may  be  divided  into  three  classes. 

First,  the  altars  on  the  high  hills.     These  may  be 
found  scattered  over  all  Korea.     They  usually  look 
toward  the  north,  and  are  at  present^  reserved  for 
the  worship  of  the  Heavens,  for  which  purpose  we 
are  commonly  told  they  are  erected.     Most  of  them 
>  seem  to  be  of  great  antiquity,  notably  those  at  Eui 
',    Ju,  Paik  Tu    San,  Seoul,  and  many  other   points, 
;    but  the  most  remarkable  of  all  is  that  at  Mari  San 
,    on  the  island  of  Kang  Wha.     A  recent  writer  who 
.'    has  seen  it  says:  "All  down  through  the  recorded 
'  history  of  the  country,  we  read  that  at  intervals  of 
'  about  a  century  money  has  been  appropriated  for 
the  repair  of  this  most  ancient  relic.     Its  immense 
/  age  is  beyond  question.     It  consists  of  a  walled  en- 
closure of  thirty  feet  square,  perched  upon  the  sharp 
point  of  the  bare  rocky  mountain  peak.     On  one 
'side  of  the  enclosure  rises  the  altar,  about  sixteen 
'feet  square  and  eight  feet  high,  the  ascent  to  the  top 
being  accomplished  by  means  of  a  stone  stairway. 
The  foundation  stones  and  the  first  few  courses  give 
/evidence  of  extreme  age.     They  are  as  moss-grown 
\^  and  seamed  by  time  as  the  native  rock  of  the  moun- 
tain from  which  they  seem  to  grow.     The  upper 
courses  are  apparently  of  more  recent  structure,  and 

*  A  few  exceptions  are  made  and  explained  later. 
IOC 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

yet  old  compared  with  our  most  venerable  European 
structures.  Only  the  top  itself  has  apparently  been 
restored  during  the  past  five  centuries.  Standing 
upon  this  altar-crowned  summit,  as  the  ocean  wind 
drives  the  clouds  across  the  serrated  tops  of  the 
rugged  range,  one  tries  to  imagine  himself  back  in 
the  days  of  Abraham,  when  Tangun  stood  by  and 
directed  the  building  of  this  heaven-touching  altar, 
and  the  flames  leaped  high  above  his  burning  heca- 
tombs. The  mind  faints  in  the  effort  to  grasp  the 
meaning  of  four  thousand  years.  Not  even  China 
herself,  that  synonym  of  cyclopean  age,  can  show 
as  ancient  and  authentic  a  memento  of  the  past."  * 
The  second  class  of  monuments  are  the  "dolmen," 
found  scattered  all  over  the  land.  Those  seen  by 
the  writer  have  in  the  main  been  situated  in  the 
plains,  and  have  generally  consisted  of  three  stones, 
two  enormous  slabs  supporting  a  third.  They  vary 
in  size,  the  supporting  slabs  being  from  three  to  five 
or  six  feet  wide,  more  than  a  foot  thick,  and  rising 
five  or  six  feet  above  the  ground. 
'  In  two  cases  only  has  there  been  a  fourth  stone  clos- 
ing up  one  side.  Notably  in  a  long  plain  near  the  city 
of  Eul  Yul  in  the  Yellow  Sea  province,  there  is  a 
line  of  these  dolmen  of  great  length  and  apparently 
at  even  distances,  the  row  running  north  and  south. 
No  bones  or  relics  of  any  kind  have  been  found, 
1  Hulbert,  "The  Passing  of  Korea,"  p.  288. 
lOI 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

either  under  or  near  any  of  these  dolmen.  Despite  this, 
Professor  Hulbert,  who  has  made  a  study  of  them, 
argues  that  they  are  probably  tombs,  and  urges 
rightly  that  time  may  have  easily  destroyed  all  such 
vestiges.  When,  however,  we  find  that  from  the 
oldest  times  the  records  speak  of  burials  being  made 
upon  the  hills  and  hillsides,  we  doubt  whether  this 
was  their  purpose,  leaning  rather  to  the  belief  that 
they  are  altars,  and  were  in  all  probability  used  for 
the  worship  of  some  of  the  earth  deities  of  Korea's 
nature-worship,  especially  as  we  find  most  of  such 
altars  on  the  plains,  and  as  the  concurrent  testimony 
of  natives  is  that  they  are  such. 

The  third  and  last  class  of  monuments  are  the 
"myriok,"  gigantic,  carved  stone  figures,  sometimes 
forty  and  more  feet  high,  of  which  there  are  two 
classes,  those  found  singly  and  those  in  pairs.  The 
former  are  evidently  Buddhas,  some  are  even  so 
named,  while  the  facial  expression  and  posture  of 
others  settle  the  matter  beyond  question.  Those 
in  pairs,  however,  generally  seem  to  be  very  much 
older,  always  represent  a  man  and  a  woman,  and 
are  generally  supposed  to  represent  the  dual  prin- 
ciples of  nature,  so  often  mentioned  in  Chinese  cos- 
mology, and  perhaps  borrowed  from  China's  Tao- 
ism.^    While  we  have  as  yet  found  no  inscriptions 

*  The  emblem  of  this  dual  principle  is  a  disk  equally  divided 
by  two  pear-shaped  figures  of  two  colors,  light  and  dark.     This 

102 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

on  these  monuments,  and  it  may  be  urged  that  they 
are  therefore  of  little  or  no  value,  they  are,  to  say 
the  least,  very  substantial  evidence  of  the  worship  of 
the  people,  and  even  if  inscriptions  should  never  be 
discovered,  they  still  will  be  always  a  very  strong 
corroboration  of  the  documentary  evidence,  now  or 
in  the  future  at  our  disposal. 

There  are  other  monuments  besides  these.  Bud- 
dhistic and  otherwise,  but  as  they  only  concern  his- 
tory or  religious  development  of  a  later  date,  they 
need  not  be  noted  at  present. 

Our  second  source  of  information  as  to  the  primi- 
tive faith  is  found  in  the  written  records,  legendary 
'  and  historical. 

^      Travelling  backwards,  among  the  earliest  dates, 

I  we  find  it  recorded  in  speaking  of  the  people  of  South 

,'   Korea  at  about  the  time  of  the  first  century  B.C. 

,'  that  "in  the  summer  they  worshipped  spirits,"  and 

'  that  "  in  autumn,  after  the  harvest,  they  worshipped 

and  feasted  again,"  and  we  learn  that  each  village 

had  its  priests  who  took  charge  of  the  worship  for 

the  community. 

At  about  the  same  time,  in  another  part  of  the 
country,  we  find  that  the  people  of  Kokorai  were 


symbol  is  the  mark  put  upon  all  government  buildings  in  Korea 
and  to-day  forms  the  centre  of  the  national  flag.  It  is  found  also 
in  China,  but  has  been  adopted  as  a  national  emblem  by  the 
Koreans. 

103 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

worshipping  Heaven,  the  spirits  of  the  earth,  of 
the  harvest  of  the  stars,  and  invisible  powers.  This 
was  about  the  opening  of  the  Christian  era,  and 
though  we  have  not  much  data  to  judge  from,  it 
looks  as  though  we  had  the  beginning  at  least  of  a 
nature-worship,  and  with  the  Heaven  mentioned 
first,  perhaps  we  might  call  it  henotheism. 

The  miraculous  at  this  time  being  noted,  the  su- 
perhuman elements  in  nature  were  being  worshipped, 
and  it  looks  as  though  imagination  was  allowed  full 
play.     It  may  be  interesting  to  note  the  develop- 
ment we  find  occurring  at  about 'the  same  period  in 
both  Japan  and  China,  and  a  phase  of  this  —  their 
desire  to  ascribe  miraculous  birth  to  their  heroes 
and  emperors  —  is  illustrated  by  various  stories.^ 
Going  still  farther  back,  to  the  people  of  Puyu, 
'  from  whom  the  people  of  Kokorai  sprang,  we  find  it 
,   noted  that  the  religion  of  this  state  was  the  worship 
[   of  the  heavens,  and  absolutely  no  mention  of  any 
;    other  spirits  or  lesser  deities  is  made. 

Oi  course,  we  recognize  that  the  absence  of  men- 

/  tion  is  not  a  positive  argument  that  no  other  deity 

was  acknowledged,  but  it  certainly  looks  as  though 

'at  this  time  in  this  section  of  Korea,  heaven  was  the 

principal,  if  not  the  only,  deity  believed  in  and  wor- 

\  shipped.     It  was  to  that  section  of  Korea  that  sur- 

I  rounds  the  present  city  of  Pyeng  Yang  and  is  directly 

*  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  III,  No.  i. 

104 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

'  south  of  the  old  kingdom  of  Kokorai,  that  Kija_' 
>  came  in  the  year  1122  B.C.,  and  history  tells  us  that  / 
I  he  introduced  geomancy,  sorcery,  divinations,  and  / 
\  spirit  worship. 

Are  we  to  conclude  that  these  were  not  known 
here  previous  to  this?  In  the  kingdom  of  Kokorai, 
just  to  the  north,  such  worship,  as  we  have  seen,  was 
not  mentioned  at  this  date,  and  if  not,  what  then  was 
the  worship  previous  to  the  advent  of  Kija  who,  we 
are  specifically  told,  introduced  spirit  worship  in 
the  neighboring  city  of  Pyeng  Yang  and  the  kingdom 
of  Chosen. 

Going  still  farther  back  in  our  Korean  records, 
we  come  to  the  legendary  king,  Tangun,  who  is 
said  to  have  reigned  in  Korea  2332  B.C.  The  date 
is  perhaps  legendary,  and  the  facts  also,  as  stated  in 
the  book,  may  be  classed  as  pure  legend,  but  the 
story  as  written  out  by  the  narrator  reveals  to  us  at 
least  what  he  believed  to  be  the  idea  of  the  earliest 
knowm  faiths  of  his  nation.  The  oldest  known  Ko- 
rean record  quoted  in  the  Tong-guk-tong-gam  and 
Tong-sa-chan-yo  states  that  in  primeval  ages  there 
was  one  divine  being  named  Wanin  who  was  the 
"Chai-so,"  the  Creator.  He  had  with  him  one  other 
being  who  came  from  him,  called  Whanung,  who 
asked  and  received  permission  to  come  down  into 
this  world.  Finding  difficulty,  however,  in  govern- 
ing the  world  as  a  spirit,  he  desired  incarnation. 

105 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Seeing  a  beautiful  woman,  who,  because  of  self- 
denial,  had  been  lifted  by  miraculous  power  from 
the  condition  of  an  animal  to  humanity,  he  breathed 
upon  her,  and  she  conceived  and  gave  birth  to  Tan- 
gun,  who  became  the  first  king  of  Korea.  Legend 
has  it  that  it  was  he  who  caused  the  erection  of  the 
ancient  altar  at  Mari-san,  referred  to  above,  and  that 
here  he  worshipped  Wanin,  the  Creator.  What 
conclusion  can  we  draw  from  this?  We  wish  for 
more  data,  we  certainly  hope  soon  to  have  more, 
but  from  these  antique  monuments  and  this  historic 
retrospect,  can  we  not  conclude  that  here  also  there 
is  a  strong  prohahility  of  a  primitive  pure  monotheism, 
and  do  we  not  also  find  in  the  present-day  worship 
of  the  land  an  added  proof  of  this  ? 

In  China,  as  we  have  seen,  the  worship  of  the 
Heavens,  or  Sang  Ti,  is  restricted  to  the  emperor;  in 
Korea,  on  the  other  hand,  while  the  official  altar  for 
the  Heavens  at  Seoul  ^  is  limited  to  the  use  of  his 
majesty  or  his  representatives,  in  addition  to  this 
not  only  are  there  individuals  who  with  certain  rites, 
bowing  toward  the  north,  worship  the  Heavens,  but 
even  since  the  arrival  of  foreigners,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  at  times  of  great  disaster,  such  as  cholera, 

'  Other  ofl&cial  altars  to  the  Heavens  are  not  so  restricted,  and 
while  the  official  regular  sacrifices  are  always  presided  over  by 
representatives  of  the  government,  these  altars  are  used  as  well 
by  private  individuals. 

1 06 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

plague,  drought,  and  famine,  the  emperor  has  by 
royal  edict  called  upon  the  people  to  purify  them- 
selves, and  to  go  to  the  high  hills  and  other  places 
and  sacrifice  and  pray  to  the  Heavens. 

At  such  times  altars  were  erected  on  the  highest 
hills,  and  also  along  the  principal  streets  of  the  capi- 
tal, and  here,  under  the  direction  of  specially  appointed 
priests,  the  people  en  masse  prayed  to  the  Heavens 
(not  the  physical  arch  above,  which  can  be  seen,  but 
to  the  Heavens  personified,  to  Providence)  to  avert 
the  disaster,  or  send  relief  from  the  curse.  Does 
not,  then,  this  fact,  that  amid  all  her  idolatry  and 
superstition,  Korea  still  has  a  kind  of  henotheism, 
give  considerable  weight  to  the  theory  that  originally 
they  were  monotheists? 

Now  let  us  consider,  as  far  as  we  are  able  to  dis- 
cover them, 

The  Doctrines  of  Koreans  Present-day  Shamanism 

As  was  noted  above,  there  is  no  hierarchy,  no 
organized  priesthood;  the  temples  or  shrines  are 
mutually  independent,  and  consequently  the  doc- 
trines held,  or  statements  of  belief  made,  by  one 
diviner  or  sorceress  may  very  materially  differ  from 
those  made  by  others.  It  can  then  readily  be  seen 
how  difficult  it  is  to  predicate  anything  as  a  body 
of  doctrine  or  faith,  under  the  head  of  Korea's 
107 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Shamanism  or  Shintoism.  Yet  there  is  a  general 
faith  commonly  adhered  to,  and  Chinese  philosophy 
has  affected  this  very  much.  Dr.  Legge,  in  referring 
to  Dr.  Ross's  book  on  Korea,  writes:  — 

"Mr,  Ross  says  Taoism,  which  divides  Chinese 
attention  with  Buddhism,  is  almost  unknown  in 
Korea,"  and  in  the  same  chapter  he  quotes  from  a 
native  treatise  on  religion,  saying  that  "they  have 
the  Religion  of  Reason,  whose  teachings  are  summed 
up  in  the  two  words  'clean'  and  'empty.'  Mr.  Ross 
thinks  that  this  Tao  is  meant  for  Buddhism;  but 
the  Taoism  of  Korea  is  simply  that  of  the  Tao-Teh- 
King,  while  the  Taoist  religion  is  happily  unknown,"  * 

Personally,  from  my  study  of  the  Tao-Teh-King 
and  of  the  Shintoism  of  Korea,  I  doubt  whether  it 
could  be  proved  that  the  Taoism  of  Korea  is  that  of 
the  Tao-Teh-King.  They  do  have  a  common  belief 
in  the  dual  principle  of  nature  and  the  efficiency  of 
the  "  Pal  Cha  "  (the  eight  characters),  both  of  which 
beliefs  have  evidently  been  taken  from  China.  How 
far  the  Tao-Teh-King  has  been  effective  in  Korea 
we  cannot  definitely  say,  but  we  do  know  that, 
with  the  other  Chinese  books,  it  is  known  and  much 
read  by  the  Shinto  or  Shamanistic  priests  and  priest- 
esses. The  following  are  a  few  of  the  salient  points 
of  the  common  faith :  — 

^  "The  Religions  of  China,"  p.  230. 
108 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

First.  They  believe  in  the  Heavens,  a  Provi- 
dence, overruling  the  world ;  and  while,  as  we  shall 
see,  they  do  also  believe  in  other  deities,  they  very 
strongly  assert  that  "Hananim"  (translated  the 
"Honorable  Heavens"  or  the  "Lord  of  Heaven") 
controls  and  directs  all  others. 

Some  look  upon  the  material  heavens,  and  speak 
of  being  able  to  see  Hananim,  but  the  great  mass  of 
the  people  look  upon  the  blue  sky  above  as  simply 
his  abode.  They  do  not  commonly  call  him  the 
Creator,  although  they  will  tell  you  that  the  altar 
at  Mari-san  is  for  the  worship  of  Hananim,  and 
will  assert  that  it  has  always  been  used  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  their  oldest  history  affirms  that  Tangun 
erected  this  altar  and  that  here  he  worshipped  and 
sacrificed  to  "his  Father,"  "Wanin,"  the  "Chai-so" 
or  Creator. 

This  idea  of  creation  by  the  Heavens  has,  how- 
ever, disappeared  now  from  the  common  faith.     Few 
indeed  inquire  into  these  things,  and,  as  has  already 
been  noted,  the  Chinese  idea  of  the  dual  principle 
as  that  from  which  sprang  all  things,  heaven  and 
earth    included,    seems    to    be   firmly  fixed  in   the 
minds  of  all.     Yet  they  give  to  Hananim  supreme   . 
power,  they  acknowledge  that  he  can  and  does  con-    \ 
trol  all  things,  and  they  ascribe  to  him  a  sort  of  ' 
"paternalism,"  acknowledging  that  he  is  ihQ  father 
of  all.     They  do  not  carry  this  to  its  logical  conclu- 

109 


< 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

sion,  but  the  idea  is  there,  and  can  be  brought  out. 
I  have  never  heard  of  an  idol  of  any  kind  or  any 
other  material  representation  of  tFe  Heavens  being 
used  in  this  worship,  and  with  the  length  to  which 
personification  goes  in  other  phases  of  their  religious 
practice,  this  is  indeed  strange. 

The  supremacy  of  Hananim  is  apparently  ac- 
knowledged by  all,  whether  Confucianists,  Bud- 
dhists, or  Shintoists.  At  the  request  of  the  high  priest 
at  a  Buddhist  monastery,  some  years  ago,  I  talked 
with  him  and  his  monks  about  Christianity,  and 
recited  for  them  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  was 
rather  surprised  when  he  indorsed  them  all,  saying 
that  they  coincided  with  the  teachings  of  Buddha. 
On  my  calling  his  particular  attention  to  the  First 
Commandment,  and  asking  how  he  reconciled  it 
with  the  worship  of  Buddha,  pointing  to  the  idol, 
he  at  once  replied,  "Oh,  Hananim  is  supreme,  he 
is  chief,  Buddha  is  only  one  of  the  lesser  gods." 
This  is  hardly  a  tenet  of  Buddhism,  but  it  well 
illustrates  the    Koreans  attitude  toward   Hananim. 

Of  this  worship.  Professor  Hulbert  says:  — 

"Strange  to  say,  the  purest  religious  notion  which 
the  Korean  to-day  possesses  is  the  belief  in  Hananim, 
a  being  entirely  unconnected  with  either  of  the  im- 
ported cults  and  as  far  removed  from  the  crude  na- 
ture-worship. This  word  Hananim  is  compounded 
no 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

of  the  words  'Heaven'  (sky)  and  'master,'  and 
is  the  pure  Korean  counterpart  of  the  Chinese  word 
'Lord  of  Heaven.'  The  Koreans  all  consider  this 
being  to  be  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Universe. 
He  is  entirely  separated  from  and  outside  the  circle 
of  the  various  spirits  and  demons  that  infest  all 
nature.  Considered  from  this  standpoint,  the  Kor- 
eans are  strictly  monotheists  *  and  the  attributes 
and  powers  ascribed  to  this  being  are  in  such  con- 
sonance with  those  of  Jehovah  that  the  foreign 
missionaries  (Protestant)  have  almost  universally 
accepted  the  term  for  use  in  teaching  Christianity."  ^ 

Secondly.  They  believe  very  strongly  in  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  "Sam  Shin,"  the  "Three  Gods."  This 
is  evidently  the  trinity  of  Taoism,  and  has  been  bor- 
rowed from  China.  To  these  gods  special  prayers 
are  made  at  their  shrines,  and  in  a  particular  way 
they  are  believed  to  be  efficacious  in  granting  the 
desires  of  fathers  and  mothers  for  offspring,  though 
their  power  is  not  restricted  to  this.  It  is  customary 
to  worship  the  "Sam  Shin"  unitedly  as  one,  and  to 
make  appeals  to  them  as  one ;  they  in  no  way  dif- 
ferentiate between  the  three,  and  never  worship  one 
or  the  other  of  them  separately,  and  hence  they  have 
been  often  compared  to  the  Trinity. 

^  Note  Hulbert's  use  of  the  word  "monotheists"  instead  of 
"  henotheists." 

'  "  The  Passing  of  Korea,"  p.  404. 

Ill 


RELIGIONS  OF  EASTERN  ASIA 

Thirdly.  We  find  throughout  the  land  a  pretty 
general  belief  in  local  deities,  chief  of  whom  is  the 
"Five-Point  General,"  he  who  presides  over  the 
North,  South,  East,  West,  and  Centre.  Some  assert 
that  there  was  originally  one  Five-Point  General, 
but  in  present-day  practice,  each  locality  and  district 
has  its  own,  and  the  deity  called  by  the  same  name 
guards  another  section.  It  is  to  them  that  suppli- 
cation must  be  made  for  protection  from  the  great 
host  of  lesser  earth  spirits.  At  each  end  of  a  village 
or  town,  there  are  curiously  carved  posts,  which 
are  representations  of  these  "Generals,"  and  put 
there  as  guardians  to  keep  out  the  evil  spirits  and 
protect  the  place. 

Then  in  a  certain  sense  under  this  "  God,"  but  also 
somewhat  independent  within  their  spheres,  come 
the  patrons  and  patronesses  of  villages,  towns,  cities, 
valleys,  and  mountains.  Each  village  has  its  special 
deity,  whose  shrine  will  be  found  at  some  pleasant 
point  on  an  elevation  or  in  a  grove  of  trees.  All 
these  guard  and  protect  the  locality;  and  the  pros- 
perity of  the  section  within  their  sphere  will  be  largely 
dependent  upon  the  way  in  which  the  natives  show 
allegiance  to  and  reverence  for  them. 

Under  this  same  head  we  should  mention  the 
Korean  habit  of  personifying  nature,  following  to  a 
certain  extent  the  fanciful  or  real  semblance  of  tree 
or  mountain   or  valley  to  some  person  or  animal, 

112 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

and  erecting  a  shrine  for  the  worship  of  such  a 
deity. ' 

Fourthly.  We  would  note  the  prevalence  of  the 
belief  in  a  host  of  other  deities.  The  polytheism 
that  comes  from  nature- worship  has  had  full  scope 
here.  Every  natural  phenomenon  has  its  specific 
deity,  and  almost  every  disease  known  in  the  land 
is  caused  by  some  god,  and  each  of  these  must  be 
appeased. 

Professor  Hulbert  writes :  "  Often  the  traveller  will 
come  across  a  heap  of  small  stones  beside  the  road, 
and  a  stunted  tree,  on  which  are  hung  rags,  locks  of 
hair,  strips  of  coloured  cloth,  pieces  of  money,  and 
a  great  variety  of  useless  articles.  Such  a  place  may 
be  found  in  the  plains,  but  it  is  much  more  likely  to 
be  near  the  top  of  a  pass,  between  two  valleys. 
These  sacred  places  are  not  dedicated  to  any  par- 
ticular spirit,  but  to  any  or  all  of  the  local  deities. 
The  traveller  picks  up  a  stone,  and  throws  it  on  the 
pile.  This  is  his  prayer  for  success  on  his  journey. 
If  he  has  reason  to  fear  that  the  'good  fortune  snake' 
is  not  propitious,  he  will  spit  on  the  stone  pile.  A 
man  who  is  going  to  the  neighboring  market  with 
his  bundle  of  wares  to  sell,  may  stop  and  tie  a  one- 
cash  piece  to  the  branch  of  the  tree  'just  for  luck.'  " 

As  the  name  of  these  spirits  is  legion,  so  the  names 
of  the  different  shrines  where  they  are  worshipped 

*  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  III,  No.  2. 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

would  make  a  long  catalogue.  After  naming  many, 
he  continues:  "Such  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  many- 
spirits  which  swarm  about  the  Korean,  keep  him 
under  constant  espionage,  and  are  ready  at  any 
moment  to  fall  upon  him  in  wrath.  If  he  goes  among 
the  mountains,  they  are  there;  if  he  goes  into  his 
inner  room,  they  are  there;  if  he  travels  to  the  re- 
motest comer  of  the  earth,  they  will  follow  him. 
It  remains,  therefore,  to  examine  the  ways  in  which 
he  can  keep  on  good  terms  with  these  figments  of 
his  imagination,  which  are  still  very  real  to  him."^ 

Fifthly.  The  animism  of  Korea  has  not  ended 
with  these,  however.  Yet  to  be  mentioned  are  the 
ghosts  or  spirits  of  the  dead.  These  are  Shin,  gods, 
spirits,  and  must  all  be  reckoned  with  if  man  is  in 
any  way  to  succeed  in  this  life.  Closely  allied  to 
these,  and  yet  almost  in  a  class  by  themselves,  are 
the  innumerable  demons  believed  to  exist.  To  the 
Korean  there  are  "Shin"  terrestrial  and  "Shin" 
celestial;  the  hatred  of  the  former  must  be  appeased, 
and  the  good-will  of  the  latter  must  be  won. 

These,  then,  in  brief,  are  some  of  the  gods  of  the 
Korean  Shinto  pantheon,  and  we  can  see  how  far 
they  have  wandered  from  their  old  monotheism,  and 
even  to  a  certain  extent  from  the  pure  henotheism 
of  later  times.  True,  if  you  talk  with  a  Korean  about 
Hananim,  he  will  acknowledge,  as  we  have  seen,  his 

*  "The  Passing  of  Korea,"  p.  408. 
114 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

supremacy  and  authority,  but  his  vision  has  become 
so  beclouded  with  the  swarms  of  deities  which  he 
has  made  for  himself,  that  he  no  longer  looks  up  to 
the  pure  heavens  above,  and  his  time  is  so  absorbed 
in  thoughts  and  efforts  to  free  himself  from  evils 
which  may  come  that  he  has  none  left  to  spare  for 
the  great  God  who  overrules  them  all. 

"  God  is  so  far  off,  and  his  activities  in  the  affairs 
of  the  Universe  so  manifold,  that  he  cannot  delay 
to  heed  the  cry  of  poor  men,"  say  they,  and  if  they 
cannot  secure  the  attention  and  care  of  some  of  their 
lesser  deities,  how  dare  they  hope  for  the  slightest 
notice  from  Hananim? 

Now  let  us  turn  to 

The  Methods  of  Worship 

and  see  what  we  can  learn  from  them  of  the  Korean 
idea  of  God. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  worship  of  the  Heavens.  In 
Seoul,  to  the  northwest,  there  is  a  beautiful  grove  of 
trees  which  contains  an  altar  to  the  Heavens,  some- 
times also  called  the  altar  to  the  Four  Seasons. 
Twice  a  year  the  emperor,  in  person,  or  if  not  in 
person  through  some  deputy  specifically  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  repairs  to  this  temple  and  on  this 
altar,  in  reality  acting  as  high  priest  for  the  whole 
country,  offers   up   sacrifices  to   the   Heavens.     In 

115 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

addition  to  this,  any  notable  and  radical  change  in 
the  laws,  or  any  change  in  the  name  of  the  dynasties, 
must  be  followed  as  soon  as  possible  by  the  proper 
services  at  this  altar,  when  the  deity  will  be  notified 
of  the  change,  and  here  it  might  be  said  the  em- 
peror takes  the  oath  of  office/ 

There  are  also  other  temples  to  the  Heavens,  at 
which  at  stated  times  or  at  the  command  of  the  em- 
peror sacrifices  are  offered.  Some  of  these  are 
oustide  the  city  walls,  and  at  times  of  slight  drought, 
as  well  as  regularly  in  the  spring  and  fall,  officials 
are  sent  to  them  to  pray  in  behalf  of  the  emperor 
for  the  averting  of  disaster  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  kingdom. 

It  is  impossible  now  to  give  a  detailed  description 
of  these  altars,  but  as  far  as  investigated  up  to  date 
there  is  no  temple  edifice  ^  and  the  approaches  are 
always  marked  by  the  Hong  Sal  Moun  (red  arrow 
gate)  corresponding,  as  we  saw,  to  the  tori  of  Japanese 
Shinto  temples.  The  altar,  always  comparatively 
low,  built  simply  of  earth  and  stone,  is  generally 
inside  one  or  two  low-walled  enclosures,  with  ter- 

*  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  III,  No.  3. 

^  An  exception  must  be  made  in  the  case  of  the  new  altar  to 
the  Heavens  recently  erected  near  the  centre  of  the  city  of  Seoul, 
which  was  an  attempt  to  follow  the  plan  and  lines  laid  down  in 
the  Chinese  altar  to  the  Heavens  in  Pekin,  erected  since  the 
China- Japan  war;  a  garish  offence  to  good  taste  and  a  wide 
departure  from  the  ancient  simplicity  of  this  worship. 

116 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

races  gradually  rising  higher  and  completely  open 
to  the  Heavens.  As  we  view  these  enclosures, 
where  the  Supreme  Deity  is  worshipped,  we  cannot 
but  feel  their  entire  fitness  to  the  purpose  to  which 
they  are  sacred.  Here  are  no  stately  piles  of  masonry, 
no  groined  arches  and  stained  glass,  no  pictured 
walls  or  statuary,  to  intrude  upon  the  worshipper's 
senses  and  steal  his  thoughts  from  the  great  object 
of  his  devotions.  Here  is  no  impertinence  of  human 
art  or  handiwork  in  pitiful  contrast  to  the  divine. 
The  blue  vault  of  Heaven  is  the  only  canopy  of  this 
temple,  the  lofty  whispering  pines  are  its  columns, 
the  stars  its  tapers,  the  birds  its  choristers,  and  the 
flowery  sod  is  its  pavement. 

"He  asks  no  taper  lights  on  high, 
No  dolorous  chant  nor  organ  music  sounding,  nor  incense 
clouding  up  the  twilight  nave." 

Here  man,  in  the  child  ages,  in  childlike  faith  and 
simplicity,  seems  instinctively  to  have  sought  the 
nearest  way  direct  to  his  Father  and  Creator. 

At  times,  however,  of  great  drought  or  severe 
plague,  as  was  stated  above,  his  majesty  calls  upon 
the  people  to  purify  themselves  and,  assembling  at 
the  altars,  to  pray  for  the  help  of  the  Heavens.  At 
such  seasons  not  only  are  the  regular  altars  used, 
but  others  are  especially  erected.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  at  these  none  of  Korea's  shamans,  either 

117 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

pansus  or  mutangs,  officiate,  but  men  picked  out 
and  appointed  to  this  service  by  his  majesty  or  the 
cabinet.  Great  care  is  exercised  as  to  purification ; 
not  only  are  the  ablutions  numerous  and  carefully 
performed,  but  only  the  purest  water  may  be  used. 
At  all  sacrificial  services  cleanliness  is  needed,  but 
particular  care  is  exercised  in  the  worship  of  the 
Heavens. 

It  is,  with  a  few  exceptions  to  be  noted  hereafter, 
in  the  worship  of  the  Heavens  only  that  animals  are 
sacrificed.  At  other  services  cooked  rice,  fruits, 
cakes,  etc.,  are  offered,  accompanied  by  libations 
of  the  best  of  their  wines,  but  live  animals,  sheep, 
goats,  and  sometimes  oxen,  horses,  and  pigs,  are 
sacrificed  to  the  Heavens.  In  fact,  the  only  use  to 
which  sheep  are  put  is  this  —  and  for  this  sole 
purpose  whole  flocks  are  kept  by  the  government. 
The  fact  would  seem  to  indicate  that  sheep  espe- 
cially have  always  been  considered  sacred  to  this 
worship. 

There  is  also,  besides  this  communal  worship 
of  the  Heavens,  a  peculiar  individualistic  worship 
worthy  of  our  attention.  It  cannot  be  said  to  be  uni- 
versal, but  here  and  there  throughout  Korea  there 
are  found  Heaven-worshippers.  They  have,  as 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  no  sacrifice,  nor 
have  I  been  able  to  secure  any  copy  of  a  ritual  used 
at  such  times.  Absolute  cleanliness  is  considered 
ii8 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

essential.  A  mat  is  placed  outside  the  house,  so  as 
to  lie  north  and  south,  with  a  clean  bowl  of  the  purest 
water  at  the  northern  end,  the  worshipper  sometimes 
going  long  distances  to  secure  this  from  some  noted 
spring.  When  all  is  thus  ready,  bowing  towards  the 
bowl  of  water  supposed  to  reflect  the  heavens,  he 
prostrates  himself  and  offers  up  his  petition  to  the 
Ruler  of  all. 

Thus  we  find  here  and  there  in  this  land  men  still 
seeking  the  supreme  ruler,  and  a  remnant  of  an 
ancient  henotheism  in  the  present-day  nature-wor- 
ship of  the  Heavens. 

It  should  here  be  reiterated  that  in  all  the  worship 
of  the  Heavens,  the  mutangs  and  pansus  are  not 
allowed  to  participate  in  their  official  capacities.  The 
pansus,  as  diviners,  may  be  asked  as  to  the  best 
place  on  which  to  erect  an  altar,  but  this  will 
be  very  seldom,  as  in  most  cases  the  old  altars 
stand.  The  services  of  the  mutangs  are  never 
required. 

Next  is  the  worship  of  the  local  deities  that  are 
patrons  of  cities  or  villages.  Here  we  find  great 
divergence.  In  certain  cases,  the  services  of  Korea's 
shamans  are  requisitioned,  but  these  are  not  con- 
sidered indispensable,  and  it  is,  generally  speaking, 
only  in  the  case  of  the  poorer  villages  that  the  more 
ignorant  natives  call  in  the  mutangs.  As  a  rule 
some  of  the  more  enlightened  citizens,  or  men  adept 

119 


\ 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

in  such  things,  will  direct  and  control  the  services. 
Great  quantities  of  food  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as  of 
liquors,  are  prepared,  and  with  appropriate  cere- 
monies offered  to  the  deity.  After  this,  the  food, 
with  the  exception  of  that  portion  of  the  liquor  that 
has  been  poured  out  in  libations,  is  consumed  by 
the  villagers.  The  services  last  all  day,  and  gener- 
ally into  the  early  evening,  being  finished  by  torch 
light. 

In  villages  which  border  on  the  sea,  or  a  river,  or 
stream,  part  of  the  food,  as  well  as  the  liquor,  will  be 
thrown  into  the  water.  On  certain  large  islands  we 
find  a  more  extended  and  formal  worship.  All  the 
villages  and  cities  on  the  island  unite  and  subscribe 
to  the  expenses,  and  the  ceremonies  are  controlled 
by  the  Toim  or  Island-head-man  (a  government 
appointee),  who  generally  appoints  some  one  in  his 
place  to  act  as  priest.  It  is  on  some  of  the  larger  of 
these  islands  that  we  find  the  exception  referred  to 
above,  in  connection  with  the  sacrifice  of  animals. 
On  certain  islands  sometimes  twice,  but  certainly 
once,  a  year  live  animals  are  offered,  preferably 
sheep,  or  if  they  are  not  obtainable,  oxen,  or  even 
pigs.  But  it  should  be  noted  that  on  all  islands 
where  this  custom  prevails  (as  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  ascertain)  there  are  existing  ancient  altars, 
which  are  on  the  high  hills,  and  generally  toward 
the  north,  so  that  I  think  we  may  conclude  that  they 

I20 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

were  originally  erected  for  the  worship  of  the  Heavens, 
and  that  although  this  original  use  has  passed  from 
the  knowledge  of  this  generation,  the  more  palpable 
and  material  forms  of  worship  have  been  maintained 
to  this  day.  The  build  of  the  altars,  their  locations 
on  the  high  hills,  their  facing  toward  the  north,  and 
the  sacrifice  of  the  animals,  —  all  point  to  the 
ancient  worship  of  Hananim. 

Another  feature  of  the  worship  at  villages  border- 
ing on  streams,  or  rivers,  or  the  sea,  comes  from  the 
Korean's  belief  in  dragons.  Dragons  are  almost 
universally  connected  with  water,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered water-gods.  Upon  their  kind  favor  depends 
the  prosperity  of  the  village  or  the  city.  The  dragon 
may  breathe  dire  pestilence,  and  the  citizens  die  by 
the  scores  and  hundreds ;  he  may  be  enraged  and 
come  thundering  down  in  the  form  of  a  flood,  and 
sweep  away  the  crops  or  the  houses,  or  even  demand 
numbers  of  human  lives.  If  on  the  sea-coast,  he 
may  blow  a  gale  of  wind,  and  with  tidal  wave 
demand  shipping,  lives,  and  sometimes  a  whole 
village,  if  he  has  not  been  properly  appeased. 

In  the  worship  of  the  various  Ryongs,  or  dragons, 
more  commonly  the  services  of  the  mutangs  ^  are 
called  in.  Sometimes  they  are  consulted  as  to  how 
the  worship  should  be  conducted,  when  they  put 
themselves  en  rapport  with  the  dragon  and  tell  just 

*  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  III,  No.  4. 
121 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

what  must  be  done.     The  power  which  they  wield 
may  well  be  judged  serious.* 

^  The  Korea  Review  gives  the  following  incident:  — 

"It  is  said  that  it  was  not  until  some  years  after  the  beginning 
of  this  dynasty  that  the  horrible  custom  of  casting  a  young  virgin 
into  the  sea  at  Po-ryung  in  Chung-Chong  province  was  discon- 
tinued. The  Mutang  held  an  annual  koot  in  order  to  propitiate 
the  sea  dragon,  and  secure  timely  rains  and  good  crops  for  the 
farmers  and  safe  voyages  for  ships.  The  custom  was  discontinued 
in  the  following  manner.  A  new  prefect  had  been  appointed 
to  that  district,  and  upon  his  arrival  at  his  post,  was  informed 
that  the  annual  sacriSce  was  to  take  place  the  next  day.  He 
expressed  his  determination  to  witness  the  ceremony.  At  the 
appointed  time  he  went  down  to  the  shore,  and  sat  down  to  watch 
the  grewsome  sight.  Three  Mutangs  were  there,  and  had  secured 
the  maiden  for  the  sacrifice.  As  they  led  her  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  to  cast  her  in,  she  screamed  and  wept  and  struggled.  The 
prefect  ordered  them  to  wait  a  moment.  '  Is  it  necessary  for  you 
to  sacrifice  a  human  being  to  the  spirit?'  They  answered, 
'Yes,  it  will  please  him,  and  he  will  come  and  take  possession 
of  us,  and  will  prophesy  good  crops  and  fortunate  voyages.' 
'But  why  do  you  not  take  a  married  woman,  instead  of  this  young 
girl?'  'Oh,  that  would  not  do  at  all.  It  would  not  please  the 
spirit.' 

"'Well,  you  are  good  friends  with  him,  are  you  not?' 
"'  Yes,  we  are  well  acquainted  with  him,  and  have  his  favor.' 
" '  Then  I  think  if  one  of  you  were  sacrificed,  it  would  please  him 
much  more  than  to  offer  this  girl.'  He  signed  to  his  attendants, 
and  seized  the  head  Mutang  and  bound  her,  and  cast  her  into 
the  sea.  The  prefect  then  said  to  the  other  Mutangs:  'Evi- 
dently he  is  not  pleased  enough,  for  he  does  not  come  and  take 
possession  of  you,  as  you  said.'  So  another  of  them  was  thrown 
to  the  waves.  This  had  no  further  effect  than  to  terrify  the  third 
out  of  her  wits,  and  she  showed  no  signs  of  spirit  possession. 
She,  too,  went  to  prove  her  theory,  and  that  was  the  end  of  the 
three  Mutangs.  The  prefect  then  memorialized  the  throne  about 
this  evil  business,  and  ever  since  that  time  the  Mutang  have  been 

122 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

This  brings  us  naturally  to  that  form  of  worship 
which  is  most  apparent  to  the  foreigner.  The  wor- 
ship of  the  Heavens  by  the  emperor  and  people  is, 
as  we  have  seen,  with  few  exceptions  at  one  or  two 
stated  intervals  during  the  year.  The  worship  also 
of  the  patron  deities  of  cities  and  villages  partakes 
of  the  same  infrequent  irregularity,  but  when  it 
comes  to  the  daily  and  almost  hourly  ills  that  afflict 
men,  these  are  constant,  and  in  some  way  must  be 
warded  off  or  lessened.  It  is  here  that  the  pansus 
and  mutangs  come  in.  These,  as  we  have  said, 
might  be  termed  the  shamans  of  Korea,  and  their 
functions  are  so  varied,  and  they  play  such  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  religious  as  well  as  the  everyday 
life  of  Korea,  that  volumes  might  be  written  about 
them  without  exhausting  the  subject. 

The  word  "Pansu"  is  made  up  of  two  syllables, 
"Pan,"  to  decide,  and  "Su,"  destiny,  and  means 
consequently  "destiny  decider"  or  "fortune-teller." 
This  office  is  restricted  to  blind  men.  It  is  com- 
monly believed  that  those  who  have  been  deprived 
of  physical  sight  have  been  given  an  inner  vision. 
They  are  not  only  in  a  sense  clairvoyants  able  to 
annihilate  space  and  matter,  and  tell  you  what  is 
happening  at  great  distances,  and  to  find  lost  arti- 
cles, etc.,  but  they  have  the  higher  art  of  divination, 

relegated  to  the  lowest  place  in  society."  —  The  Korea  Review, 
1903,  p.  303. 

123 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

can  tell  the  future,  show  the  outcome  of  certain  lines 
of  action,  and  being  able  also  to  discern  the  methods 
and  the  very  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  gods,  they 
are  at  times  even  able  to  direct  these  superior  god- 
beings  themselves.  They  are,  as  we  have  said, 
peculiarly  gifted,  and  it  is  by  this  wonderful  inner 
vision  that  they  obtain  their  power  of  exorcising, 
accomplishing  this  not  so  much  by  prayer  as  by 
direct  command  and  threat,  and  repetition  of  sup- 
posedly potent  formulas. 

The  mutang  is  always  a  woman,  generally  from 
the  lower  classes  and  of  a  bad  reputation.  She 
is  supposed  to  be  a  sort  of  spiritual  medium,  to 
be  able  to  put  herself  en  rapport  with  the  spirits, 
and  in  fact  to  become  obsessed  at  will ;  generally, 
however,  such  obsessions  are  preceded  by  a  series 
of  incantations  and  rituals  and  a  sort  of  self-hyp- 
notism, where  the  mutang,  having  by  her  perfor- 
mances thrown  herself  into  a  kind  of  a  trance 
(pretended  or  real),  becomes  the  mouthpiece  of 
the  deity.  She  does  not  command  the  deities,  but 
by  her  friendship  with  them  is  able  to  ascertain 
their  will,  and  to  name  the  ransom  for  which  they 
will  consent  to  release  the  victim  who  is  under 
torment. 

It  will  readily  be  realized  that  the  pansus  command 
more  respect  than  the  mutangs.  They  are  more 
often  consulted,  and  even  the  more  educated  and 
J24 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

better  enlightened  will  be  apt  to  rely   upon  their 
judgment   and  seek   their  aid. 

The  mutangs  are  not  generally  called  upon  by 
the  better  educated  and  enlightened,  though  many 
of  those  who  pretend  to  be  above  such  things  can- 
not yet  get  away  from  old  superstitions  and  will 
willingly  provide  the  means  for  the  woman  of  the 
family  to  call  in  the  mutang  to  perform  their  cere- 
monies of  exorcising.  While,  then,  the  men  of  letters 
call  it  foolishness,  and  tell  you  it  is  good  enough 
for  women  and  children,  and  affirm  that  they  do  not 
believe  in  it,  let  sickness  invade  the  dwelling,  espe- 
cially if  it  be  smallpox,  let  disaster  follow  the  crops 
of  the  farmer  or  ships  of  the  merchant,  and  they 
will  not  be  slow,  though  often  indirectly,  to  secure 
the  services  of  one  or  other  of  the  priests  of  these 
two  cults. 

The  pansu  is  more  often  employed  to  advise 
as  to  enterprises  to  be  undertaken,  and  to  pre- 
scribe the  means  by  which  success  shall  be  ob- 
tained, and  will  often,  rather  than  use  the  power 
of  exorcising  that  he  is  supposed  to  possess, 
recommend  the  services  of  a  mutang.  There 
are  thus  mutual  services  rendered  by  the  two 
professions. 

The  method  of  exorcising  performed  by  the  pansu 
has  been  well  described  by  a  writer  in  the  Korea 
Review.    He  says :  — 

125 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

"The  Pansu  comes  into  the  presence  of  the  af- 
flicted man,  and  food  is  laid  out  as  for  a  feast.  The 
pansu  then  invites  the  various  spirits  to  come  and 
feast,  such  as  the  house  spirit,  the  kitchen  spirit, 
and  the  door  spirit.  He  orders  them  to  go  and  in- 
vite to  the  feast  the  evil  spirit  that  has  caused  the 
disease,  and  if  he  will  not  come  to  call  upon  the 
master-spirit,  to  compel  him  to  do  so.  When  he 
arrives,  the  pansu  bids  him  eat  and  then  leave  the 
place,  and  cease  to  torment  the  patient.  If  he  con- 
sents, the  fight  is  over;  but  he  probably  will  not 
submit  so  easily,  in  which  case  the  pansu  gets  out 
the  book,  and  chants  a  stave  or  two.  The  mystic 
power  of  the  book  paralyzes  the  imp,  and  he  is  seized 
and  imprisoned  in  a  stone  bottle,  and  securely 
corked  down.  In  some  cases  he  is  able  to  burst 
the  bottle,  and  then  he  will  have  to  be  invited  again 
to  a  feast  and  subdued  by  the  book.  He  is  then  put 
into  a  bottle,  and  this  time  the  cork  is  made  of  peach 
wood,  which  has  peculiar  power  over  imps,  and  the 
bottle  is  beaten  with  peach  twigs  to  reduce  the  imp 
to  complete  helplessness.  The  bottle  is  then  de- 
livered to  a  mutang,  and  she  is  told  to  go  in  a  certain 
direction,  which  will  prevent  the  return  of  the  imp, 
and  bury  the  bottle  in  the  ground.  The  cure  is  now 
supposed  to  be  complete."  ^ 

*  The  Korea  Review,  1903,  p.  387. 
126 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

The  business  of  the  mutang,  however,  has  little 
to  do  with  divination.     Of  it  the  same  writer  says ; 

"It  is  the  business  of  the  mutang  to  prevent  or 
heal  such  sickness,  and  it  is  effected  by  one  of  the 
different  forms  of  the  ceremony,  called  ^KootJ 
If  a  sick  man  has  reason  to  believe  that  his  dis- 
temper is  caused  by  a  spirit,  he  will  send  his  wife 
to  a  mutang,  to  describe  his  symptoms,  and  learn,  if 
possible,  what  spirit  is  doing  the  mischief.  The 
mutang  may  declare  the  name  of  the  spirit,  without 
going  to  the  sick  man's  house ;  or,  she  may  say  that 
she  must  see  the  patient  first,  but  it  is  manifestly 
improbable  that  she  will  say  the  sickness  is  an  or- 
dinary one,  and  not  due  to  spirits,  for  this  would  be 
to  belittle  her  own  calling  and  curtail  her  own  per- 
quisites. Having  declared,  then,  the  cause  of  the 
disease,  the  mutang  accepts  a  retaining  fee  of  five, 
ten,  or  even  twenty  thousand  cash  [varying  from 
$5  to  $20]  and  proceeds  to  name  a  'fortunate'  day 
for  the  ceremony,  which  will  be  performed  either 
at  the  mutang's  house  or  at  that  of  the  patient."* 

Of  course,  these  services  will  vary  much  with  the 
deity  in  whose  honor  they  are  held,  as  well  as  with 
the  wealth  of  the  party  seeking  aid.  It  would  be  of 
interest  to  examine  carefully  all  these  forms  of  wor- 
ship, but  for  this  we  have  not  the  time. 
^  The  Korea  Review,  1903,  p.  148. 
127 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

There  is,  however,  one  disease,  namely  smallpox, 
which  is  judged  preeminently  worthy  of  a  special 
deity,  and  in  fact  it  is  the  only  one  in  Korean  thera- 
peutics that  is  honored  by  having  the  special  over- 
sight of  a  "god"  all  its  own.  His  Excellency  must 
always  be  spoken  of  with  terms  of  respect.  "An 
Honorable  guest  has  deigned  to  honor  me  by  visit- 
ing my  humble  dwelling,"  is  the  way  in  which  his 
arrival  is  announced  to  a  neighbor  or  friend. 

There  are  a  large  number  of  rules  to  be  strictly 
followed  on  the  first  appearance  of  the  disease, 
but  not  one  of  them  in  any  way  refers  to  remedy 
or  quarantine.  No  wood  must  be  cut,  no  nails 
driven,  while  the  "guest"  is  present.  No  medicine 
of  any  kind  must  be  administered,  no  member  of  the 
household  may  comb  the  hair,  wear  new  clothes,  or 
sweep  the  room.  These,  however,  are  minor  rules, 
though  their  infringement  might  bring  disaster. 

The  presiding  deities  of  the  house  or  site,  and  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  ancestors,  must  none  of  them  be 
worshipped  at  this  time,  for  this  would  call  in  other 
spirits,  and  attention  to  them  would  detract  from 
due  honor  to  the  smallpox  god,  who  above  all 
others  must  at  this  time  be  duly  reverenced,  and  who 
would  be  jealous  and  enraged  were  any  other  course 
followed. 

In  due  season  the  mutangs  appear,  and  with  music 
and  food  for  the  delectation  of  the  god  they  dance 
128 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

and  sing,  until  one  or  the  other  throws  herself  into 
a  trance.  Then,  acting  as  the  mouth-piece  of  the  god, 
they  lay  down  further  rules  and  state  on  what  con- 
ditions the  spirit  will  spare  the  patient.  In  accor- 
dance with  the  words  of  the  mutang  the  sacrifice, 
which  it  is  needless  to  say  varies  in  extent  and  cost 
with  the  supposed  condition  of  the  purse  of  the  head 
of  the  house,  will  be  duly  offered  in  the  way 
prescribed. 

The  thirteenth  day  is  the  date  for  the  departure 
of  the  spirit,  and  in  most  cases  a  piece  of  wood 
made  to  personate  a  horse  with  rice  and  money,  and 
a  red  umbrella  are  at  this  time  placed  upon  the 
roof  for  the  use  of  the  deity.  In  some  cases  a  real 
horse  is  provided ;  thus,  when  the  young  Korean 
prince  was  taken  down  with  smallpox,  the  supposed 
spirit,  speaking  through  the  lips  of  the  mutang, 
demanded  that  he,  with  due  honors,  should  be 
escorted  to  the  very  borders  of  the  land,  even  to 
Euiju  itself,  three  hundred  miles  away,  and  with  due 
pomp  and  ceremony,  adorned  with  the  richest  silks 
and  satins,  a  real  horse  was  led  all  the  way,  of  course 
accompanied  regally  by  an  escort  of  the  spiritualis- 
tic mediums,  so  that  if  he  deigned  to  speak,  his  orders 
could  be  properly  heeded. 

Much  might  still  be  said  concerning  many  of  the 
other  shaman  or  Shinto  religious  rites  and  practices, 
both  as  regards  births,  marriages,  and  funerals,  but 
K  129 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

it  must  be  remembered  that  these  lectures  are  rather 
confined  to  showing  the  Korean  idea  of  God,  and 
in  the  short  time  allotted  I  have  felt  compelled  to 
restrict  myself  to  such  as  peculiarly  illustrate  this. 

It  has  been  evident  that  the  Koreans  believe  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul ;  certainly  their  fear  of  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  proves  this.  This  is  also  ex- 
hibited in  their  funeral  rites,  and  the  ceremonies 
following  immediately  after  death.  Some  of  these 
are  the  public  announcement  of  the  departure  of 
the  deceased  to  the  spirits  of  the  air;  the  formal 
calling  of  all  his  titles, — quite  commonly  done  from 
the  roof  of  the  house,  the  special  services  at  which 
frequently  the  assistance  of  the  mutang  is  invited, 
when  the  spirit  of  the  dead  is  questioned  as  to  his 
condition,  and  whether  anything  can  be  done  to 
improve  this  by  the  living  members  of  the  family. 
There  is  also  frequently  the  later  koot  to  which  the 
deities  of  the  spirit  world  (among  whom  especially 
is  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  Court  in  their  Hades) 
are  summoned,  and  after  being  served  with  a  special 
feast  are  petitioned  to  render  judgment  in  favor 
of  the  deceased  and  permit  an  immediate  entrance 
into  the  realms  of  the  blest. 

It  seems  evident  from  all  that  we  can  learn  that 
the  ideas  of  heaven  and  hell  are  of  Buddhist  origin. 

Such,  then,  seem  to  be  the  gods  of  Korea's  pan- 
theon, and  yet  in  it  all  there  is  still  one  whom,  as 

130 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

we  have  seen,  they  recognize  as  supreme.  We  find 
no  sign,  either  in  records  of  worship,  or  history, 
or  in  the  monuments,  of  any  phaUic  worship,  nor  of 
special  patron  deities  for  brothels,  gambling  houses, 
or  robbers,  nor  do  we  find  any  provision  made  for 
carrying  on  immoral  practices  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  temples.  We  do  not  intend  to  allege  for  a  mo- 
ment that  purity  exists  at  Korean  Shinto  temples, 
but  we  would  state  that  immorality  is  always  hidden 
and  is  never  in  connection  with  the  worship  in  any 
way. 

Thus,  then,  we  see  that  Korea  for  herself  had 
possessed  originally  in  all  probability  a  pure  mono- 
theism; and  although  in  later  times  this  developed 
into  a  nature  religion,  with  its  consequent  polytheism, 
even  to  this  day  there  survives  a  sort  of  henotheism 
which,  to  a  large  measure,  has  preserved  the  native 
concept  of  the  deity  from  the  degradations  common 
to  all  pure  polytheisms.  Despite  the  influence  of 
Buddhism,  idols,  as  we  understand  them,  are  not 
common.  Representations  of  deities  in  the  forms 
of  persons  or  animals  outside  of  Buddhistic  temples, 
except  in  the  Myriok  referred  to  above,  are  almost 
unknown.  The  nearest  approach  is  in  the  pictures 
that  are  displayed  in  the  Shinto  or  Shaman  shrines. 
The  anthropomorphic  tendencies  which  developed 
the  crudities  of  Taoism  in  China,  also  many  of  the 
myths  of  Japan's  Shinto,  have  been  thus  guarded 
131 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

against  in  Korea,  and  the  obscenity  exhibited  in  the 
myths  of  the  neighboring  countries  is  so  far  unknown 
in  Korean  mythology. 

Even  the  conception  of  their  lesser  deities  is  far 
superior  to  that  of  the  other  nations  of  Asia  or  of 
Greece  and  Rome ;  and  we  believe  that  this  is  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  able  to  conserve 
so  much  of  their  ancient  henotheism,  and  have  held 
their  ideal  of  God  in  so  lofty  a  plane,  that  even  in 
•  their  ybacksHding  /  polytheism  they  have  not  yet 
reached  the  point  where,  like  other  lands,  they  have 
altogether  lost  their  first  childlike  reverence,  and 
degraded  Him  to  the  level,  or  below  it,  of  themselves. 
\J  In  fact,  in  the  Korean  concept  of  Hananim  there  is 
even  less  anthropomorphism  than  is  seen  in  the  Jewish 
ideas  of  Jehovah.  They  were,  however,  as  we  have 
seen,  early  won  over  to  nature-worship  and  steadily 
the  members  of  their  pantheon  have  increased, 
until  to-day  we  find  the  Koreans  bound,  as  it  were, 
hand  and  foot  under  the  oppressive  reign  of  count- 
less deities.  Varied  have  been  their  efforts  to  pro- 
pitiate these  gods,  and  to  escape  the  evils  with  which 
their  own  acts  or  the  fury  of  the  demons  have 
threatened  them. 

Not  only  do  the  people  offer  sacrifices,  as  has  been 

noted,  and  prepare  feasts  for  the  delectation  of  the 

gods,  but  in  the  case  of  a  conflagration,  instead  of 

attempting  to  quench  it,  they  wave  garments  in  the 

132 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

air  and  sound  trumpets  in  honor  of  the  fire-god. 
When  sickness  enters  the  house,  a  portion  of  the 
patient's  garments  will  probably  be  tied  on  the  spirit 
tree.  At  the  opening  of  the  year  many,  by  the  pur- 
chase of  straw  manikins,  into  which  they  insert  coins, 
hope,  by  throwing  them  away,  to  rid  themselves  of 
all  possible  bodily  ailments  for  the  year,  and  it  is 
generally  believed  that  those  who  find  these  "scape- 
goats" and  carry  them  off  for  the  sake  of  the  money 
they  contain  thus  become  heirs  to  the  ills  which 
would  otherwise  have  afflicted  those  who  have  sought 
in  this  way  to  propitiate  the  spirits.  Many  other 
superstitions  might  be  described  had  we  the  time, 
but  the  most  noteworthy  of  all  is  the  belief  prevalent 
in  certain  sections,  that  the  smearing  of  blood  on  the 
two  sides  and  above  the  doorway  of  a  house  will 
be  eminently  efficacious  in  preventing  the  entrance 
of  all  evil  spirits  and  demons;  and  strange  to  say, 
this  efficacy  is  much  enhanced  if  the  blood  of  the 
two  sides  takes  the  form  of  the  Chinese  figure  ten, 
which  coincides  with  that  of  a  cross.  As  to  how 
ancient  is  this  custom,  we  do  not  know;  as  to  its 
origin,  as  yet  we  have  found  no  record  of  such  prac- 
tice in  the  books.  The  form  which  this  smearing 
takes  is  said  to  be  due  simply  to  the  general  oriental 
idea  of  the  efficacy  of  the  number  ten,  and  its  resem- 
blance to  the  cross  is  a  mere  coincidence. 

When  it  comes  to  the  ethics  of  Shamanism,  as 
133 


^ 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

we  said  of  its  polytheism,  so  of  its  morals,  the  high 
ideal  of  Hananim  has  much  modified  what  would 
otherwise  have  been  a  doubly  degrading  influence 
of  Korea's  polytheism;  and  while  the  level  is  not 
higher  than  might  be  expected  under  the  circum- 
stances, we  find  that  the  Korean  in  the  high  ideal  of 
his  Supreme  God,  which  has  been,  shall  we  say, 
providentially  conserved  for  him,  has  had  an  anchor 
which  has  kept  him  from  drifting  still  farther,  and 
it  is  probably  to  a  great  extent  due  to  the  strong 
hold  which  this  ancient  faith  still  has  upon  him 
that  he  accepts  Christianity  with  such  phenomenal 
readiness. 

This,  then,  is  a  brief  r^sum6  of  Korea's  shaman- 
istic  (or  rather  Shinkpo)  practices  and  beliefs,  and  it 
is  interesting  to  note  the  pertinacity  with  which, 
despite  the  influence  of  China  and  Japan,  despite  the 
overshadowing  power  of  Confucianism  and  Bud- 
dhism, they  have  held  on  to  so  much  that  is  good 
of  their  ancient  religion.  Though  we  find  here  the 
evidences  of  much  of  the  same  superstition  and  gross 
polytheism  that  we  have  seen  in  both  China  and 
Japan,  the  same  gradual  but  sure  decay  and  deterio- 
ration from  a  purer  and  nobler  faith,  yet,  perhaps 
due  to  her  longer  and  more  complete  isolation  and 
retirement,  she  has  retained  more  of  that  primitive 
belief  than  others.  She  still  holds  to  her  lofty  ideal 
of  her  Chai-so  and  a  realization  of  the  need  of  puri- 
134 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

fication  by  both  the  washing  of  water  and  the  shed- 
ding of  blood. 

Perhaps  the  perfect  balance  of  the  emotional  and 
rational  in  the  Korean,  as  defined  by  Professor  Hul- 
bert,  has  assisted  in  this  conservation  of  ideals;  but 
whatever  the  causes,  these  are  the  facts ;  and  as  in 
Japan  Shinto  always  maintained  its  influence,  so 
here,  with  far  wider  and  more  pregnant  results,  the 
national  Korean  faith  still  holds  sway. 

APPENDICES  TO  LECTURE  III 

Appendix  No.  i,  P.  104 

"A  COMPANY  of  revellers  beheld  upon  a  mountain 
side  a  ball  of  light,  on  which  a  horse  was  seated.  They 
approached  it,  and  as  they  did  so,  the  horse  rose  straight 
in  the  air  and  disappeared,  leaving  a  great  luminous 
egg.  This  soon  opened  of  itself,  and  disclosed  a  hand- 
some boy;  this  wonder  was  accompanied  by  vivid  light 
and  the  noise  of  thunder.  Not  long  after  this  another 
wonder  was  seen.  Beside  the  Yun-yung  spring  a 
hen  raised  her  wing,  and  from  her  side  came  forth  a 
female  child  with  a  mouth  like  a  bird's  bill,  but  when 
they  washed  her  in  the  spring,  the  bill  fell  off,  and 
left  her  like  other  children.  For  this  reason  the  well 
was  named  the  Palchum,  which  refers  to  the  falUng 
of  the  bill.  Another  tradition  says  that  she  was  formed 
from  the  rib  of  a  dragon,  which  inhabited  the  spring. 
In  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign  the  youthful  king  es- 
poused this  girl,  and  they  typify  to  all  Koreans  the 
perfect  marriage." 

135 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

At  another  place  we  read:  — 

"  King  Ha-bu-ra  sat  upon  the  throne  of  North  Pu-yu. 
His  great  sorrow  was  that  Providence  had  not  given 
him  a  son.  Riding  one  day  in  the  forest,  he  reached 
the  bank  of  a  swift-rushing  stream,  and  there  dis- 
mounting he  besought  the  Great  Spirit  to  grant  him 
a  son.  Turning  to  remount,  he  found  the  horse  stand- 
ing with  bowed  head  before  a  great  boulder,  while 
tears  were  rolling  down  its  face.  He  turned  the 
boulder  over,  and  found  beneath  it  a  child  of  the  color 
of  gold,  but  with  the  form  resembling  a  toad.  Thus 
was  his  prayer  answered.  He  took  the  curious  child 
home,  and  gave  it  the  name  Keum-wa,  or  'Golden- 
Toad.'  Soon  afterward  the  kingdom  removed  to 
East  Pu-yu,  or  Tong  Pu-yu,  somewhere  near  the  White 
Head  Mountain,  known  as  Pak-tu-San. 

"  Arriving  at  the  age  of  manhood,  Keum-wa  looked 
about  for  a  wife.  As  he  was  walking  along  the  shore 
of  U-bal-su  (whether  river  or  sea  we  do  not  know)  he 
found  a  maiden  crying.  Her  name  was  Yu-wha, 
'Willow  Catkin.'  To  his  inquiries,  she  replied  that 
she  was  the  daughter  of  the  sea-king  Ha-bak,  but 
that  she  had  been  driven  from  home  because  she  had 
been  enticed  away  and  ravished  by  a  spirit  called  Ho- 
mo-su.  Keum-wa  took  her  home  as  his  wife,  but  shut 
her  in  a  room  to  which  the  sun  had  access  only  by  a 
single  minute  aperture.  Marvellous  to  relate,  a  ray  of 
light  entered  and  followed  her  to  whatever  part  of  the 
room  she  went.  By  it  she  conceived,  and  in  due  time 
gave  birth  to  an  egg  as  large  as  five  'measures.* 
Keum-wa  in  anger  threw  it  to  the  pigs  and  dogs,  but 
they  would  not  touch  it.  Cattle  and  horses  breathed 
136 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

upon  it  to  give  it  warmth.  A  stork  from  heaven  settled 
upon  it,  and  warmed  it  beneath  her  feathers.  Keum-wa 
relented  and  allowed  Yu-wha  to  bring  it  to  the 
palace,  where  she  wrapped  it  in  silk  and  cotton.  At 
last  it  burst  and  disclosed  a  fine  boy." — Hulbert, 
"History  of  Korea,"  Vol.  I,  pp.  34-37. 

Appendix  No.  2,  P.  113 

The  poetic  name  for  the  city  of  Seoul  means  a  silk- 
worm, and  the  native  geomancers  have  traced  a  re- 
semblance (to  us  foreigners  fanciful)  in  the  topographi- 
cal contour  of  the  region  and  find  its  head  at  the 
village  of  Han  Kang,  where  an  abrupt  clifif  touches 
the  river.  This  silkworm  must,  of  course,  be  properly 
waited  upon  and  served,  or  in  his  anger  he  might 
ruffle  up  his  back,  with  sad,  sad  results;  and  therefore 
not  only  are  there  regular  sacrifices  offered  to  the  city, 
but  on  the  further  side  of  the  river,  which  is  from  one- 
half  to  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  the  authorities 
have  planted  and  maintained  for  generations  a  mul- 
berry grove.  True,  the  leaves  are  now  used  for  the 
feeding  of  real  silkworms  by  the  villagers  on  that  side 
of  the  river,  but  the  reason  for  planting  the  grove  and 
for  its  annual  upkeep  was  the  feeding  and  appeasing 
of  the  old  mammoth  silkworm,  a  ridge  of  whose  back 
is  the  pine-covered  south  mountain  of  Seoul. 

A  valley  in  a  certain  section  of  the  country  had  lost 
its  fertility.  The  crops  were  poor,  and  year  after  year 
were  growing  poorer.  Geomancers  and  diviners  were 
called  in  to  ascertain  the  cause.  After  a  careful  ex- 
amination of  the  hills  they  pointed  out  to  the  credu- 
lous villagers  that  the  contour  revealed  a  face,  and 

137 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

that  just  where  the  nostrils  should  be  there  had  been 
a  well.  This  well,  however,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
son  of  the  wealthiest  man  in  the  village  had  fallen  in  and 
drowned,  had  been  filled  up.  The  geomancers  at  once 
pointed  out  that  the  nostril  having  thus  been  stopped 
up,  the  spirit  of  the  valley  could  no  longer  breathe, 
but  was  dying,  and  that  it  was  due  to  this  that  the 
valley  had  lost  its  fertility.  The  well  was  therefore 
reopened,  and  with  proper  ceremonies  they  apologized 
to  the  deity,  asked  his  august  pardon,  and  hoped  for 
better  days.  This  happened  only  a  few  years  ago, 
but  at  last  report  the  crops  in  the  valley  had  not 
improved. 

I  will  only  mention  one  other  case  of  this  kind:  — 
Just  outside  of  Seoul  there  is  a  hill  that  from  an  im- 
aginary resemblance  is  called  the  Cat-hill.  Its  deity 
is  a  representation  of  the  animal.  Cholera  is  commonly 
called  the  cat  disease,  and  the  knotting  of  the  muscles 
is  said  to  be  the  rats  under  the  skin.  The  fact  that 
cholera  has  never  visited  this  hill  is  entirely  due  to 
the  well-known  antipathy  between  these  animals, 
and  is  both  proof  that  the  deity  of  the  hill  is  a  cat, 
and  also  that  the  disease  is  rightly  named.  The  fact 
that  there  are  beautiful  pure  springs  from  which  those 
who  reside  on  this  hill  get  their  water  supply  does  not 
enter  into  consideration. 

Of  course,  the  more  enlightened  do  not  believe  in 
such  things  and  will  stoutly  avow  their  lack  of  faith, 
and  yet  I  have  known  an  educated  high  Korean  official 
in  a  half-ashamed  way  try  to  screen  from  my  view  the 
picture  of  the  "Spirit  Cat"  that  has  been  put  upon 
the  wall  to  keep  out  the  rat  disease  during  cholera. 

138 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

Talk  with  him,  and  he  will  argue  as  rationally  as  any, 
and  would  tell  you  probably  (if  you  asked  him  about 
it)  that  his  "stupid  wife"  had  put  it  up,  but  in  reality 
he  had  bought  it,  not  wishing  to  "take  any  chances." 

Appendix  No.  3,  P.  116 

On  the  8th  of  January,  1895, 1  witnessed  a  singular 
ceremony,  which  may  have  far-reaching  results  in 
Korean  history.  The  Japanese,  having  presented  Korea 
with  the  gift  of  independence,  demanded  that  the 
King  should  formally  and  publicly  renounce  the 
suzerainty  of  China,  and  having  resolved  to  cleanse 
the  Augean  stable  of  official  corruption,  they  com- 
pelled him  to  inaugurate  the  task  by  proceeding  in 
semi-state  to  the  altar  of  the  Spirits  of  the  Land,  and 
there  proclaiming  Korean  independence,  and  swearing 
before  the  spirits  of  his  ancestors  to  the  proposed 
reforms.  His  Majesty,  by  exaggerating  a  trivial 
ailment,  had  for  some  time  delayed  a  step  which  was 
very  repulsive  to  him,  and  even  the  day  before  the 
ceremony,  a  dream  in  which  an  ancestral  spirit  had 
appeared  to  him  adjuring  him  not  to  depart  from 
ancestral  ways,  terrified  him  from  taking  the  pro- 
posed pledge. 

After  a  long  delay  and  much  speculation  as  to 
whether  the  king  at  the  last  moment  would  resist 
the  foreign  pressure,  the  procession  emerged  from  the 
palace  gate  —  huge  flags  on  trident-headed  poles, 
purple  bundles  carried  aloft,  a  stand  of  stones  conveyed 
with  much  ceremony;  groups  of  scarlet-  and  blue- 
robed  men  in  hats  of  the  same  colors,  shaped  like 
fools'   caps,   the   king's   personal    servants   in   yellow 

139 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

robes  and  yellow  bamboo  hats,  and  men  carrying 
bannerets.  Then  came  the  red  silk  umbrella,  followed 
not  by  the  magnificent  state  chair  with  its  forty  bearers, 
but  by  a  plain  wooden  chair  with  glass  sides,  in  which 
sat  the  sovereign,  pale  and  dejected,  borne  by  only 
four  men.  The  Crown  Prince  followed  in  a  similar 
chair.  Mandarins,  ministers,  and  military  officers 
were  then  assisted  to  mount  their  caparisoned  ponies, 
and  each,  with  two  attendants  holding  his  stirrups 
and  two  more  leading  his  pony,  fell  in  behind  the  Home 
Minister,  riding  a  dark  donkey  and  rendered  con- 
spicuous by  his  foreign  saddle  and  foreign  guard. 
When  the  procession  reached  the  sacred  enclosure, 
the  military  escort  and  the  greater  part  of  the  caval- 
cade remained  outside  the  wall,  only  the  king,  digni- 
taries, and  principal  attendants  proceeding  to  the 
altar.  The  grouping  of  the  scarlet-robed  men  under 
the  dark  pines  was  most  effective  from  an  artistic 
point  of  view,  and  from  a  political  standpoint  the 
taking  of  the  following  oath  by  the  Korean  king 
was  one  of  the  most  significant  acts  in  the  tedious 
drama  of  the  late  war.  —  Isabella  Bird  Bishop, 
"  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,"  1898. 

Appendix  No.  4,  P.  122 

For  a  careful  study  of  this  subject  as  developed  in 
Korea  no  books  are  as  yet  on  hand,  but  the  able  arti- 
cles in  The  Korea  Review,  1903,  by  Professor  H.  B. 
Hulbert,  should  be  read  among  other  things.  He 
says:  "Korean  society  is  blessed  or  cursed  with  two 
handicrafts  whose  business  it  is  to  deal  with  those 
occult  powers,  with  which  the  oriental  imagination 

140 


THE    SHAMANISM    OF    KOREA 

peoples  all  space."  These  two  handicrafts  are  set  forth 
in  the  terms  "mutang  "  and  "pansu,"  and  the  nearest 
approach  to  these  words  that  we  can  find  in  English  are 
"sorceress"  and  "exorcist,"  but  in  a  broader  sense 
we  may  call  them  ''witch"  and  "wizard."  How 
nearly  the  office  of  mutang  or  pansu  approaches  to 
that  of  witch  or  wizard  will  appear  in  the  following 
discussion. 

The  name  mutang  is  most  appropriately  conferred, 
for  "mu"  means  "to  deceive"  and  "tang"  means  a 
"  company."  Sometimes  this  individual  is  called  a  miin- 
yu  or  "  deceiving  woman."  It  may  be  that  the  mutang 
means  "deceiving  crowd,"  because  in  vulgar  parlance 
she  may  be  denominated  a  "bad  lot."  The  word 
"  pansu  "  is  composed  of  "  pan,"  "  to  decide,"  and  "  su," 
"destiny."  This  means  approximately  a  "fortune- 
teller," but  it  describes  the  oflfice  of  pansu  only  in  part. 

There  are  ten  principal  forms  of  service  which  the 
mutang  renders.  Each  is  done  by  means  of  a  koot, 
or  mutang  incantation.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  mutang's  influence  lies  entirely  in  her  friend- 
ship with  the  spirits,  rather  than  in  any  power  to  force 
them  to  her  will. 

And  later  Professor  Hulbert  adds:  — 

"In  the  preceding  pages  we  have  described  at  length 
the  office  and  status  of  the  Korean  mutang  or  sorceress. 
It  has  appeared  that  she  claims  to  be  able  to  influence 
the  spirits  through  her  friendship  with  them.  In 
other  words,  she  is  a  sort  of  spiritual  medium.  But 
when  we  take  up  the  subject  of  the  pansu,  we  find 
quite  a  different  state  of  things.  The  pansu  is  a  blind 
man  who  follows  the  profession  of  exorcist  and  fortune- 

141 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

teller.  The  word  comes  from  the  Chinese  which  means 
a  fortune-teller.  Unlike  the  mutang,  he  is  an  enemy 
of  the  spirits  and  is  able  to  drive  them  out,  whereas 
the  mutang  prays  to  them  and  coaxes  them  to  go. 
The  office  of  mutang  is  very  much  older  than  that  of 
pansu;  for  the  former  has  been  in  Korea  for  thousands 
of  years,  while  the  latter  is  a  product  of  the  past  few 
centuries." 


142 


LECTURE   IV 

Confucianism 

We  have  now  covered  the  three  specifically  ethnic 
religions  of  the  Far  East,  and  in  regard  to  two  of  these 
we  have  found  very  strong  presumption,  if  not  posi- 
tive proof,  that  they  started  from  an  almost  pure 
monotheism,  which  later  developed  into  a  nature- 
worship  with  at  first  what  seems  probably  a  heno- 
theism  but  falling  later  into  the  superstitious  and 
degrading  tendencies  of  polytheism,  which  we 
found  in  one  of  these  at  least  had  entirely  obliterated 
the  worship  of  the  supreme  God,  as  far  as  the  people 
were  concerned.  In  regard  to  the  third  we  have 
not  the  data  from  which  to  decide  its  primitive 
antecedents. 

There  now  remains  for  our  examination  those 
two  cults,  found  alike  in  somewhat  varying  aspects 
in  all  three  countries  —  Confucianism  and  Bud- 
dhism, The  latter  was  an  importation  foreign  to 
them  all;  while  the  former,  which  we  are  to  make 
our  objective  in  this  lecture,  had  its  origin  in  China. 

Dr.  Legge,  in  his  admirable  treatise  on  "The  Re- 
ligions of  China,"  has  given  us  a  most  instructive 
143 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

and  enlightened  account  of  the  possibilities  of  its 
primitive  faith.  Later  researches,  I  think,  confirm 
his  earlier  statements  and  do  much  to  uphold  his 
strong  conviction  that  there  was,  as  we  saw  in  our 
first  lectures,  not  a  henotheism,  nor  a  monolatry, 
but  a  pure  monotheism  here  in  the  earliest  days. 
He,  however,  calls  this  Confucianism,  and  we  feel 
compelled  to  take  issue  with  him  at  this  point. 

Confucius  wrote  the  histories  of  ancient  times,  or 
rather  we  should  say  "edited"  *  the  annals  and  the 
Book  of  Odes,  etc.  These  were  confessedly  older 
records,  and  it  is  said  that  the  documents  that  com- 
pose the  annals  of  history  were  one  hundred  in 
number,  covering  a  period  of  sixteen  centuries. 

For  the  Book  of  Odes  it  is  affirmed  that  Confucius 
had  about  three  thousand  rhymed  ballads  from 
which  he  selected  the  three  hundred  and  five  that 
form  this  book.  They  were  not  commented  upon 
by  him,  but  were  simply  collected  and  put  into  their 
present  form. 

Unless,  then,  Confucius  has  in  some  way  indicated 
his  allegiance  to  the  theories  advanced,  we  have  no 
right  to  ascribe  these  conceptions  to  him,  and  because 
he,  as  an  historian,  describes  in  his  edited  records 
the  religious  practices  of  the  ancients,  we  are  hardly 

*"  Confucius  was  not  an  original  thinker.  To  quote  his  own 
words,  'he  was  a  transmitter,  and  not  a  maker.'"  —  Douglas, 
"Confucianism,"  p.  9. 

144 


CONFUCIANISM 

warranted  in  calling  the  religion  thus  exemplified 
Confucianism.  If  we  shall  find  that  Confucius  in 
his  teaching  really  adhered  to  and  upheld  this  faith, 
or  if  it  should  develop  that  in  the  interpretation  of 
his  writings  his  disciples  of  to-day,  or  even  of  any 
time,  returned  to  it,  there  might  be  some  reason  in 
thus  denominating  it,  but  Dr.  Legge  in  his  story  of 
the  life  of  this  sage  and  later  discussion  of  present- 
day  Confucianism  shows  neither  of  these. 

The  two  questions  that  arise  before  we  can  de- 
termine this  are :  What  did  Confucius  teach  ?  and 
What  is  present-day  Confucianism? 

Dr.  Giles,  on  the  other  hand,  looking  only  at  the 
first  of  these  questions,  emphasizes  what  Confucius 
emphasized,  and  ignoring  in  his  considerations  of 
Confucianism  the  present-day  faith  and  practice 
of  avowed  adherence,  tells  us  distinctly  that  it  is 
not  a  religion.  It  behooves  us,  therefore,  to  examine 
carefully  the  teachings  of  Confucius,  and  then  to 
consider  the  present-day  Confucianism  as  found  in 
China,  Japan,  and  Korea.  Let  us  then  examine 
first 

The  Teachings  of  Confucius 

In  doing  this  it  would  be  well  to  take  a  brief  sur- 
vey of  the  life  of  the  sage.     As  we  saw  in  our  first 
lecture,  he  was  a  contemporary  of  Lao-tsze.     Of 
the  latter  we  have  but  the  most  meagre  data  on  which 
L  145 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

to  build,  while  of  the  former  the  most  profuse  de- 
tails are  at  our  disposal.  He  has  been  the  hero  of 
almost  one-third  of  the  human  race  nearly  twenty- 
five  centuries,  and  the  stories  that  cluster  around  his 
life  and  history  are  numerous  and  interesting.  Only 
a  few  phases  of  this  are  needed  just  now,  however, 
for  our  purpose. 

Bom  in  551  B.C.,  he  lived  in  China  when  the  Chi- 
nese had  already  been  weaned  away  from  the  purity 
of  their  primitive  faith,  and  in  their  religious  prac- 
tices had  become  what  might  be  well  termed  "ani- 
mists"  or  "spiritists."  He  was  born  of  a  good 
family,  his  father  having  served  his  country  in  a 
military  capacity  and  being  a  man  of  great  prowess. 
In  the  desire  to  praise  the  sage  and  glorify  his  name 
many  legendary  stories  are  related  in  connection 
with  his  birth. 

As  a  lad,  he  was  a  remarkable  student,  and  so 
diligent  that  he  early  commended  himself  to  the 
rulers  and  served  his  country  in  a  number  of  ways. 
In  his  twenty-second  year,  however,  he  began  his 
work  as  a  teacher,  and  it  may  be  said  that  this  was 
really  his  life-work.  At  various  times  he  held  high 
positions  under  his  government,  but  his  ethics  and 
standards  were  altogether  too  high  and  severe,  not 
simply  for  his  associates  in  the  government,  but  also 
for  the  people  at  large. 

Believing  that  his  code  of  ethics  and  rules  of  living 
146 


CONFUCIANISM 

would  bring  permanent  peace  to  the  country  and 
prosperity  to  the  land,  he  naturally  sought  to  have 
his  system  adopted,  but  with  little  real  success.  It 
was  altogether  too  rigid  for  his  times,  and  he  was 
forced  to  travel  from  one  country  to  another.  Yet 
the  disciples  who  sought  him  out  and  tried  to  follow 
his  precepts,  it  is  said,  numbered  thousands.  De- 
spite all  opposition,  he  stoutly  adhered  to  his  doc- 
trine and  practice,  and  though  his  chidings  were  not 
often  heeded,  he  never  seems  to  have  hesitated  to 
rebuke  wrong  doing  even  by  the  highest  in  the  land.^ 
At  the  time  of  his  death  we  find  him  neglected 
and  set  aside.  He  said:  "No  intelligent  monarch 
arises ;  there  is  not  one  in  the  Empire  that  will  make 
me  his  master.  My  time  is  come  to  die."  Of  this 
Dr.  Legge  says:  "His  end  was  not  unimpressive, 
but  it  was  melancholy.     He  sank  behind  a  cloud. 

*  Yet  Douglas  says:  "It  is  impossible  to  study  this  portion 
of  Confucius'  career  without  feeling  that  a  great  change  had 
come  over  his  conduct.  There  was  no  longer  that  lofty  love  of 
truth  and  virtue  which  had  distinguished  the  commencement  of 
his  official  life.  Adversity,  instead  of  stiffening  his  back,  had  made 
him  pliable.  He  who  had  formerly  refused  to  receive  money  he 
had  not  earned  was  now  willing  to  take  pay  in  return  for  no  other 
services  than  the  presentation  of  courtier-like  advice  on  occasions 
when  Duke  Ling  desired  to  have  his  opinion  in  support  of  his 
own;  and  in  defiance  of  his  oft-repeated  denunciation  of  rebels, 
he  was  now  ready  to  go  over  to  the  court  of  a  rebel  chief,  in  the 
hope  of  possibly  being  able  through  his  means  'to  establish,' 
as  he  said  on  another  occasion,  '  an  Eastern  Chow.'  "  —  "  Con- 
fucianism," p.  47. 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Disappointed  hopes  made  his  soul  bitter.  The 
great  ones  of  the  Empire  had  not  received  his  teach- 
ings. No  wife  or  child  was  by  to  do  the  kindly 
offices  of  affection  for  him,  nor  were  the  expecta- 
tions of  another  life  present  with  him  as  he  passed 
through  the  dark  valley.  He  uttered  no  prayer,  and 
he  betrayed  no  apprehensions.  Deep-treasured  in 
his  own  heart  may  have  been  the  thought  that  he 
had  endeavored  to  serve  his  generation  by  the  will 
of  God,  but  he  gave  no  sign."  * 

He  lived,  as  we  have  said,  in  the  time  of  Lao-tsze, 
when  the  nature-worship  of  China  had  become  almost 
a  pure  animism,  superstitions  of  the  grossest  kind 
were  in  vogue.  Man  was  so  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  deities  that  he  could  not  move  without  in  some 
way  encountering  danger.  The  strife  for  the  elixir 
of  immortality  and  the  philosopher's  stone,  which 
would  turn  all  into  gold,  attracted  so  much  attention 
that  the  real  affairs  of  daily  life  were  neglected. 
Against  this  gross  polytheism,  with  its  degrading 
tendencies,  both  the  sages  rebelled,  but  their  method 
of  attaining  their  desired  end  differed  radically. 

Lao-tsze,  as  we  have  seen,  tried  by  philosophizing 
to  make  man  so  absorbed  in  "Tao"  that  his  very 
nature  would  be  right,  and  no  rules  would  then  be 
needed.  Confucius,  on  the  other  hand,  believed 
that  man  was  by  nature  perfect  and  virtuous,  and 

^  "The  Life  and  Teachings  of  Confucius,"  p.  88. 
148 


CONFUCIANISM 

however,  this  name  was  frequently  mentioned  in  the 
books  edited  by  Confucius,  when  we  come  to  his 
sayings,  as  recorded  in  "The  Analects,"  we  would 
note  in  the  first  place  that  the  significant  name  is 
absolutely  ignored.  In  the  sayings  of  the  master  him- 
self it  is  not  mentioned  once,  and  in  the  whole  book, 
at  the  only  time  it  does  occur,  which  is  in  the  first 
chapter  of  the  twentieth  book  and  third  verse,  it  is 
only  when  quoting  the  prayer  of  Tang,  who  was  the 
founder  of  the  Shang  dynasty. 

In  the  second  place,  we  note  that  Confucius  him- 
self in  this  very  book  is  referred  to  as  neglecting  the 
teachings  in  regard  to  the  Heavens ;  in  fact,  in  the 
ninth  book  in  the  first  chapter  we  find  it  stated  that 
"the  subjects  of  which  the  master  seldom  spoke 
were  profitableness,  and  also  the  appointments  of 
Heaven,  and  perfect  virtue."  ^ 

When  one  of  his  disciples  questioned  him  as  to  the 
service  which  should  be  rendered  to  the  spirits,  we 
find  him  quoted  in  the  eleventh  book,  eleventh  chap- 

^  Douglas  says:  "There  is  nothing  spiritual  in  the  teachings 
of  Confucius.  He  rather  avoided  all  references  to  the  supernat- 
ural. In  answer  to  a  question  about  death  he  answered,  'While 
you  do  not  know  life,  how  can  you  know  about  death  ? '  Life, 
then,  was  his  study,  and  life  as  represented  by  man  as  he  exists. 
The  questions  whence  man  came  and  whither  he  is  going 
never  troubled  him;  he  simply  looked  on  man  as  a  member  of 
society,  and  strove  to  work  out  for  himself  by  the  light  of  ancient 
records  how  he  might  best  contribute  to  his  own  happiness,  and 
to  that  of  the  world  in  general.  —  "Confucianism,"  p.  68. 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

ter,  as  saying,  "While  you  are  not  able  to  serve  men, 
how  can  you  serve  spirits?"  and  when  questioned 
in  regard  to  death,  his  reply  was,  "While  you  do  not 
know  life,  how  can  you  know  about  death?"  We 
find,  then,  that  his  direct  teachings  seem  to  ignore  the 
ancient  worship  of  Sang  Ti,  to  have  nowhere  taught 
the  worship  of  Heaven,  and  to  have  plainly  avowed 
man's  inability  to  apprehend  the  supernatural,  and 
to  have  implied  thereby  the  uselessness  of  the  at- 
tempt. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Confucius  was  not 
intending  to  give  to  his  followers  a  religion,  and  yet 
at  the  same  time  we  must  also  not  forget  that  the 
religious  practices  of  his  day,  as  seen  in  extreme  ani- 
mism and  spiritism,  were  extremely  distasteful  to  the 
master.  It  has  been  claimed  that  he  was  only 
intending  to  give  a  politico-ethical  system,  but  in  an 
age  of  ceremonial  rites,  when  he,  as  a  teacher,  was 
prescribing  so  carefully  all  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  practical  everyday  life,  when  nothing  is  said  about 
either  the  rules  for  religious  ceremonies  or  their  need, 
the  only  conclusion  at  which  we  can  arrive  is  that 
the  teacher  either  did  not  think  them  worthy  of  a 
reference,  or  perhaps  felt  that  the  matters  to  which 
they  related  were  unknowable.  The  only  references 
he  made  to  spirits,  taken  alone,  certainly  would  lead 
us  to  conclude  that  theistically  he  was  an  agnostic. 

When,  however,  we  come  to  the  story  of  his  life 
152 


CONFUCIANISM 

and  to  his  disciple's  statements  of  his  habits,  we  are 
almost  led  to  another  conclusion,  unless  we  should 
decide  that,  while  in  theory  an  agnostic,  he  was  un- 
able to  break  away  from  the  customs  and  practices 
of  his  forefathers  and  of  his  own  age.  In  the  cir- 
cumstances that  gave  rise  to  some  of  the  conversa- 
tions we  get  some  bright  side  lights  that  reveal  in 
part  his  practices.  In  the  twentieth  book,  and  third 
chapter,  of  "The  Analects"  we  find  him  saying  that 
"without  recognizing  the  ordinances  of  Heaven,  it 
is  impossible  to  be  a  superior  man."  At  another 
time,  when  he  found  himself  and  his  teachings  ig- 
nored, when  he  was  alone  and  depressed,  feeling  that 
no  man  knew  him,  we  find  him  saying,  "I  do  not 
murmur  against  Heaven,  I  do  not  grumble  against 
men,  my  studies  lie  low  and  my  penetration  rises 
high,  but  there  is  Heaven  that  knows  me."  ^  Here 
was  conscious  satisfaction  in  the  justice  of  Heaven. 
At  another  time  when,  threatened  by  an  opponent, 
his  life  was  in  danger,  the  people  having  risen  against 
him  and  he  himself  being  a  prisoner,  we  find  him  boldly 
saying:  "If  Heaven  had  wished  to  let  this  cause 
perish,  then  I,  a  future  mortal,  should  not  have  gotten 
such  a  revelation  to  that  cause.  While  Heaven  does 
not  let  the  cause  of  truth  perish,  what  can  the  people 
of  Kwang  do  to  me?"  At  still  another  time,  when 
en  the  occasion  of  his  practising  certain  ceremonies 

^  Book  14,  Chapter  37. 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

he  and  his  disciples  were  set  upon,  he  is  recorded 
as  having  calmed  the  fears  of  his  disciples  by  saying, 
"  Heaven  produced  the  virtue  that  is  in  me ;  Huan 
Tui  [the  man  who  had  conspired  against  him], 
what  can  he  do  to  me?"* 

Still  farther  in  his  life  we  find  several  passages 
referring  evidently  to  his  practice  at  certain  cere- 
monies, proving  conclusively  that  he  attended  such, 
and  took  part  in  them,  and  in  Book  3,  Chapter  12, 
we  find  it  definitely  stated,  "  He  sacrificed  to  the  dead 
as  if  they  were  present;  he  sacrificed  to  the  spirits 
as  if  the  spirits  were  present." 

From  the  previous  quotations  we  can  see  plainly 
that  Confucius  certainly  ignored  in  his  teachings 
the  existence  of  the  supernatural.  In  fact,  we  find 
one  of  the  earliest  writers  quoting  him  as  having 
said,  "  Treat  the  gods  with  respect,  but  keep  them  at 
a  distance;"  and  yet  we  find  that  in  his  everyday 
life  he  felt  compelled  to  worship  and  to  acknowledge 
their  presence  and  power. 

A  careful  analysis  of  his  life  and  teachings,  then, 
leads  us  to  the  conclusion  that  living  in  a  time  of 
much  puerile  superstition,  against  which  his  nature  re- 
belled, he  found  himself  absolutely  unable  to  fathom 
the  awful  mysteries  of  existence  and  creation,  and 
doubtless  hesitated  therefore  to  dogmatize  in  re- 
gard to  them,  preferring  in  what  he  taught  to  con- 

*  Book  7,  Chapter  22. 


CONFUCIANISM 

fine  himself  to  such  things  as  he  could  speak  of  with 
authority. 

His  mind  was  too  great  to  permit  him  to  be  a  blind 
leader  of  the  blind,  to  teach  where  he  had  not  re- 
ceived direct  clear  light,  or  to  use  his  own  feelings 
and  intuitions  as  a  creed  for  his  people.  And  yet 
this  very  failure  on  his  part  to  recognize  and  empha- 
size even  the  good  points  of  the  existing  religion, 
has  been  the  bane  of  the  system  which  to-day  bears 
his  name. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  development  and  beliefs  of 

Present-day  Confucianism  in  China 

As  we  have  seen,  Confucius  gave  no  religious 
systems,  and  for  a  time  at  least  his  practices  and 
teachings  fell  somewhat  into  disuse.  He  was  not, 
however,  without  disciples,  of  whom  the  most  noted 
was  Mencius,  who  has  had  the  most  to  do  with 
the  preservation  of  the  teachings  of  the  sage  and 
their  development.  He  lived  about  one  hundred 
years  after  the  death  of  the  master,  and  was  a  leader 
in  the  struggles  between  this  doctrine  and  the  specu- 
lative theories  of  Lao-tsze. 

Much  of  the  history  of  China  is  a  record  of  the 
varying  fortunes  of  these  two  cults.  Considerable 
bitterness  was  engendered  on  both  sides,  and  most 
notable  of  all  was  the  attempt  during  the  temporary 

155 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

supremacy  attained  by  the  Taoists  under  one  of  the 
monarchs  to  destroy  by  fire  all  the  writings  of  the 
sage  and  every  vestige  of  his  teachings.  Copies 
of  these,  however,  were  preserved  at  the  risk  of  life 
in  caves,  within  walls,  and  in  other  hiding  places, 
and  were  brought  to  light  when  the  Confucian  party 
again  came  into  power.  For  centuries,  however, 
the  doctrines  of  Confucius  have  been  acknowledged 
as  the  classical  literature  of  China,  and  have  been 
the  basis  and  almost  the  alpha  and  omega  of  all 
its  education. 

A  Confucian  college  has  been  established  in  Pekin, 
with  other  institutions  which  might  perhaps  be  called 
branches  in  the  largest  and  most  important  cities  of 
the  Empire.^ 

A  knowledge  of  the  "classics,"  which  comprise  the 
writings  of  Confucius,  Mencius,  and  a  few  other  dis- 
ciples, is  essential  to  official  preferment,^  and  a  large 
examination  hall  exists  at  the  capital  and  at  each  of 
the  larger  provincial  towns  where  the  tests  for  such 
promotion  are  made.  It  would  be  of  interest  to 
study  the  development  of  Confucianism  in  all  its 
varying  phases,  but  we  rather  desire  to  consider  the 

*  "  China  is  indeed  the  land  of  Confucius,  no  other  land  so  com- 
pletely and  perfectly  represents  its  master.  For  millenniums  he 
has  been  supreme,  for  his  teachings  have  become  a  part  of  the  tex- 
ture of  Chinese  civilization." —  Knox,  "Religion  in  Japan,"  p.  140. 

^  Of  course  we  are  not  taking  into  consideration  the  changes 
now  rapidly  taking  place  in  the  national  life  of  China. 


CONFUCIANISM 

idea  of  God  exhibited  in  the  resultant,  as  we  have  it 
in  the  life  and  practices  of  modern  Confucianists. 

Following  the  plan  outlined  in  the  previous  lec- 
tures, let  us  consider  first  what  gods,  if  any,  exist  in 
their  pantheon.  While  there  are  many  who,  making 
a  study  of  the  metaphysics  of  Confucianism  as 
evolved  from  the  classics  and  the  later  commentators, 
hold  that  there  is  no  true  Confucian  pantheon,  as- 
serting that  this  religion  as  it  exists  to-day  is  purely 
pantheistic,  and  that  consequently  it  has  no  personal 
gods,  yet  a  visit  to  the  temples  and  shrines  that  must 
be  classed  as  Confucian  would,  I  think,  lead  us  to 
the  conviction  that  it  has  a  pantheon  with  a  multitude 
of  deities.^ 

Says  Dr.  Martin:  "Originally  recognizing  the 
existence  of  a  supreme  personal  deity,  it  has  degen- 
erated into  a  pantheistic  medley  and  renders  wor- 
ship to  an  impersonal  anima  mundi  under  leading 
forms  of  visible  nature."  The  pantheism  is  so  ap- 
parent in  the  philosophy  and  the  real  polytheism 

*  Says  Dr.  Knox:  "  Surely  it  is  not  surprising  that  Confucianism 
has  been  termed  non-religious.  Without  a  Creator,  with  only 
a  reference  to  a  Supreme  Ruler;  without  a  doctrine  of  heaven, 
hell,  or  immortality;  without  a  conception  of  sin  against  God; 
without  a  felt  need  for  rites,  ceremonies,  sacraments,  hymns, 
prayers,  and  priests;  without  even  so  much  as  a  cosmology  or  a 
mythology  or  an  ontology,  it  seems  devoid  of  all  contents  and 
characteristics  to  which  the  term  '  religious '  belongs.  Yet  none 
the  less  Confucianism  is  a  religion."  —  "The  Development  of 
Religion  in  Japan,"  p.  175. 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

so  palpable  in  fact  that  he  has  designated  it  a  "pan- 
theistic medley."  He  himself  says  almost  in  the 
same  connection:  "Confucianism  now  stands  forth 
as  the  leading  religion  of  the  Empire,  its  objects  of 
worship  are  of  three  classes :  the  powers  of  nature, 
ancestors,  and  heroes.  Besides  the  concrete  universe 
separate  honors  are  paid  to  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
mountains,  rivers,  and  lakes,"  While,  then,  the 
actual  teachings  of  Confucius  might  lead  us  to 
agree  with  Giles  and  call  it  no  religion  at  all,  or  a 
study  of  the  comments  made  by  later  disciples  (Chu 
Hi)  lead  us  definitely  to  assert  that  it  is  entirely 
pantheistic  with  absolutely  no  idea  of  any  possible 
personal  theism,  we  find,  in  reality,  that  in  its  present- 
day  form,  there  is  a  pantheon  for  us  to  consider. 

Foremost,  then,  among  these  deities,  we  find  the 
Heavens  *  and  in  the  study  of  the  worship  of  this 
god  we  find  that  Confucian  practice  and  teachings 

^  Dr.  Faber's  estimate  of  the  thought  of  God  as  it  existed  in 
the  mind  of  Mencius  can  be  learned  from  the  following:  — 

"Shang-te  is,  according  to  these  few  places,  (i)  the  Supreme 
Ruler,  who,  as  to  kings,  sets  up  one  and  puts  down  another; 

(2)  He  desires  the  physical  and  moral  health  and  well-being  of  men; 

(3)  He  is  holy,  so  that  no  uncleanness  dare  approach  Him;  (4) 
He  is  nevertheless  gracious  to  the  penitent.  Against  such  a 
doctrine  concerning  God  there  is  nothing  to  be  advanced,  as  al- 
though it  is  not  exhaustive,  yet  it  contains  the  essential  elements 
of  the  Old  Testament  doctrine  of  God.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
nowhere  is  there  a  hint  given  that  He  is  the  Creator;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  He  nowhere  appears  as  a  created  being."  —  Faber, 
"Mind  of  Mencius,"  p.  74. 

158 


CONFUCIANISM 

restrict  it  to  the  emperor  himself.  The  avowed 
idea  is  that  this  god  is  so  high  that  the  emperor 
(who  is  called  "Tien  Cha,"  the  Son  of  Heaven) 
alone  can  worship  him. 

In  my  first  lecture,  while  discussing  the  primitive 
faith  of  China,  I  had  occasion  to  refer  to  and  quote 
from  the  ritual  sometimes  used  at  this  service,  and 
while  we  were  charmed  with  the  mingled  simplicity 
and  grandeur  of  this  worship,  and  were  led  to  believe 
that  in  the  most  ancient  times  no  such  restriction 
existed,  we  cannot  but  regret  that  the  development 
of  Confucianism  as  seen  in  its  present-day  form  has 
brought  about  such  restrictions,  and  has  thus  cut  off 
the  people  from  the  purifying  influences  which,  as  we 
saw  in  our  last  lecture,  naturally  flow  from  a  high 
ideal  held  by  the  people  of  a  supreme  God,  to  whom 
they  can  go  and  with  whom  they  can  hold  com- 
munion. The  difficulty  was  not  that  the  ideal  was 
low,  but  that  such  as  it  was,  they  removed  it  from 
the  people  and,  giving  them  no  outlet  for  their  nat- 
ural religious  instincts,  compelled  them  to  find  it 
solely  in  the  degrading  creatures  of  their  own  evil 
imaginations. 

Next  in  natural  order,  but,  as  we  shall  soon  see, 
not  in  importance,  comes  the  worship  of  the  powers 
of  nature.  While  Confucius  did  not  teach  anything 
directly  about  religion,  he  did,  as  we  saw,  tell  people 
to  respect  the  gods,  but  keep  far  from  them ;  he  also 
159 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

sacrificed  to  them,  and  so,  while  ignoring  and  declin- 
ing to  teach  anything  in  regard  to  the  matter,  he 
tacitly  allowed  polytheism.  His  practice,  however, 
together  with  that  of  his  followers,  very  materially 
hindered  the  increase  of  the  Confucian  pantheon. 
At  Pekin  there  are  four  great  imperial  altars,  one 
to  the  Heavens,  another  to  the  four  seasons  or  nature, 
and  another  to  other  deities,  and  a  fourth  to  imperial 
ancestors.  As  we  have  noted,  Dr.  Martin  gives  three 
classes  of  Confucian  deities,  powers  of  nature,  an- 
cestors, and  heroes.  It  is  under  the  powers  of  na- 
ture that  the  gods  just  mentioned  are  classed. 

Thirdly.  We  must  next  note  the  worship  offered 
to  the  sage  *  himself.  He  was  early  raised  to  post- 
humous rank,  which  gradually  became  higher  and 
higher,  until  his  apotheosis,  and  even  since  then  there 
has  been  a  rise  in  grade.  The  following  prayer 
offered  by  the  emperor  at  the  annual  worship  of 
Confucius  will  illustrate  the  position  he  holds  to-day : 

"  Great  are  thou,  O  perfect  sage !  Thy  virtue  is 
full;   thy  doctrine  is  complete.     Among  mortal  men 

^Douglas  says:  "But  the  titles  conferred  on  Confucius  by 
the  emperors  of  China  were  not  mere  words.  From  the  time  of 
the  Emperor  Kaou  Te  (206-194  B.C.)  to  the  present  day  Con- 
fucius has  been,  outwardly  at  least,  the  object  of  every  occupant 
of  the  throne.  Temples  have  been  erected  to  his  honor  in  every 
city  in  the  Empire,  and  his  worship,  which  was  originally  con- 
fined to  his  native  state,  has  for  the  last  twelve  hundred  years 
been  as  universal  as  the  study  of  the  literature  which  goes  by  his 
name."  —  "Confucianism,"  p.  161. 

160 


CONFUCIANISM 

there  has  not  been  thine  equal.  All  kings  honor 
thee.  Thy  statutes  and  laws  have  come  gloriously 
down.  Thou  art  the  pattern  in  this  Imperial  School. 
Reverently  have  the  sacrificial  vessels  been  set  out. 
Full  of  awe  we  sound  our  drums  and  bells.  I,  the 
emperor,  offer  a  sacrifice  to  the  philosopher  Con- 
fucius, the  ancient  teacher,  the  perfect  sage,  and 
say:  'Oh,  teacher,  in  virtue  equal  to  heaven  and 
earth,  whose  doctrines  embrace  the  past  time  and 
the  present,  in  reverent  observance  of  the  old  stat- 
utes, with  victims,  silks,  spirits,  and  fruits,  I  care- 
fully offer  sacrifices  to  thee.  May'st  thou  enjoy  the 
sacrifice.' " 

Not  only  is  there  a  special  temple  to  him  at  the 
Imperial  College,  but  it  is  duplicated  in  every  city 
and  department  in  the  various  provinces  of  the  coun- 
try. These  temples  are  very  large,  and  in  many 
places  contain  images  of  Confucius  and  of  many 
of  his  disciples.  In  some  temples,  also,  there  are 
pictures  of  the  "five  hundred  sages,"  but  in  certain 
parts  of  China  the  image  is  replaced  by  a  picture  or, 
sometimes,  by  a  simple  "spirit  tablet."  There  are 
over  fifteen  hundred  of  these  temples  throughout 
China,  and  in  certain  places  the  sacrifices  are  very 
extensive.  In  some  of  the  principal  towns  an  ox, 
twenty-two  sheep,  and  twenty-two  pigs  are  offered 
at  one  service.  It  is  asserted  that  in  these  cere- 
M  i6i 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

monies  more  than  sixty-two  thousand  animals  are 
yearly  sacrificed  to  Confucius. 

At  these  same  services  there  is  often  a  richly  dressed 
company  of  choristers  and  literati,  who  with  flags, 
lamps,  and,  at  times,  incense  add  much  to  the  scene, 
singing  in  unison  the  following  chorus :  — 

"  Confucius,  Confucius !     How  great  is  Confucius ! 
Before  Confucius  there  never  was  a  Confucius; 
Since  Confucius  there  never  has  been  a  Confucius. 
Confucius,  Confucius !     How  great  is  Confucius !  " 

Of  course  there  are  those  who  claim  that  this  is 
not  worship,  but  the  majority  of  those  who  have 
witnessed  these  services  feel  compelled  to  call  it 
such.  Dr.  Legge  says  :  "  I  need  not  go  on  to  enlarge 
on  the  homage  which  the  emperors  of  China  render 
to  Confucius.  It  could  not  be  more  complete.  It 
is  worship  and  not  mere  homage.  He  was  unrea- 
sonably neglected  when  alive.  He  is  now  un- 
reasonably venerated  when  dead.  The  estimation 
with  which  the  rulers  of  China  regard  their  sage 
leads  them  to  sin  against  God,  and  this  is  a  misfor- 
tune to  the  Empire." 

Those  who  have  witnessed  the  simple  school- 
room rites  in  sections  of  the  Empire  where  on  the 
first  and  fifteenth  of  the  month  the  children  simply 
bow  before  the  tablet  ^  or  picture  of  the  sage,  or  the 

*  "  At  the  most,  Confucian  worship  is  an  act  of  grateful  remem- 
brance and  service.     The  bowing  before  the  tablet  of  the  sage 

162 


CONFUCIANISM 

daily  obeisance  as  practised  in  some  schools,  have 
been  quite  positive  in  asserting  that  there  is  no  real 
worship  of  Confucius;  but  we  almost  feel  that  this 
is  due  cither  to  a  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  real  con- 
ditions in  China  or  to  an  individualistic  definition 
of  the  word  "  worship  "  which  would  not  be  upheld 
by  lexicographers. 

Fourth.  The  real  corner-stone,  however,  of  Con- 
fucianism seems  to  be  the  worship  of  deceased 
ancestors,  and  there  are  not  wanting  those  who  hold 
that  ancestor  worship  is  the  real  beginning  of  all 
religion.  Starting  out  with  this  preconceived  notion, 
Hearn  ascribes  this  as  the  basis  of  the  primitive 
faith  of  Japan,  but  in  this  he  is  not  sustained  by  such 
students  of  Shinto  as  Aston,  Chamberlain,  and  Knox, 
and,  as  we  saw  in  the  first  lecture  of  this  course,  from 
both  philological  and  historical  considerations  it 
does  not  seem  to  have  been  the  basis  of  the  Chinese 
religious  belief,  and  in  fact  we  doubt  whether  in 
the  earliest  days  it  existed  at  all  in  China,  and  while 
perhaps  not  bearing  directly  upon  this  question, 
we  might  note  in  passing  that  in  Korea,  acknowl- 
edged by  China  as  preserving  more  of  her  oldest 
traditions  than  even  China  herself,  we  find  in  the 

involves  no  more  than  the  Hfting  of  the  hat  as  we  stand  before 
a  tomb  of  a  hero  of  the  past.  To  call  this  reverence  by  the  term 
which  we  use  for  the  worship  of  the  supreme  Deity  is  to  confound 
things  which  essentially  differ." — Knox,  "The  Development  of 
Religion  in  Japan,"  p.  173. 

163 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

earliest  records  no  reference  to  any  such  ancestral 
worship. 

In  the  time  of  Confucius,  however,  we  have  every 
reason  to  believe  that  this  practice  existed;  in  fact 
we  are  definitely  told  that  Confucius  sacrificed  to 
the  dead.  While  we  acknowledge  that  some  of  the 
later  commentators  positively  assert  that  there  is 
no  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  in  Confu- 
cianism, both  the  form  of  worship  and  the  etymology 
of  the  Chinese  characters  for  death,  etc.,  lead  us  to 
believe  that  this  is  a  doctrine  commonly  held. 

Confucius  did  not  definitely  teach  life  after  death, 
yet  we  are  told,  as  noted,  that  he  sacrificed  to  the  dead 
as  present ;  while  the  methods  pursued  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  spirit  tablet,  and  the  care  exercised  in 
the  oversight  of  the  tablet  houses,  together  with  the 
regular  ceremonies  twice  a  month,  as  well  as  the 
semiannual  sacrifices,  all  point  very  clearly  to  a  be- 
lief in  the  existence  of  spirits  after  death.  At  the 
new  and  full  moon  every  member  of  the  family  is 
expected  to  prostrate  himself  before  the  tablets, 
all  important  events  are  solemnly  announced  to  the 
ancestors,  marriages  are  performed  in  their  presence, 
and  in  fact  almost  every  act  in  the  life  of  a  China- 
man shows  a  firm  belief  in  the  spiritual  existence  of 
the  man  after  death. 

The  restriction  of  the  worship  of  the  Heavens, 
and  to  no  small  extent  of  the  powers  of  nature,  to 
164 


CONFUCIANISM 

the  emperor  and  government  officials,  as  well  as 
the  formal  worship  of  Confucius  by  these  same  offi- 
cials assisted  only  by  the  literati  and  students,  has 
left  this  ancestral  worship  as  the  great  outstanding 
feature  of  present-day  Confucianism  in  China.  It  is 
not  our  object  here  to  speak  of  the  moral  effect  of 
the  Confucian  code,  except  in  so  far  as  its  theism 
has  aflfected  it.  The  prominence  that  has  thus  been 
given  to  ancestor  worship  has  made  filial  piety  and 
devotion  the  highest  virtues  among  the  people  of 
this  nation.  As  might  be  expected,  this  has  at  times 
descended  to  mere  formalism,  but  as  a  rule  I  think 
it  may  be  said  that  the  nations  of  the  world  would 
do  well  to  study  and  pattern  after  the  Chinaman's 
filial  devotion.^ 

The  fact  that  the  parent  has  entered  the  realm  of 
spirits  and  is  superhuman  has  contributed  to  this 
common  idea.  At  the  same  time,  in  this  very  thought, 
coupled  with  the  idea  of  the  necessity  that  every 
spirit  shall  have  those  who  will  do  him  honor  and 
attend  to  his  needs,  and  that  such  services  can  be 
rendered  only  by  male  offspring,  has  created  such  an 

"  *  Knox  thus  compares  Confucianism  and  Buddhism:  "To 
Confucius,  as  we  have  seen,  virtue  is  found  only  in  the  human 
relationships,  and  outside  of  them  it  has  no  meaning.  To  be 
father,  son,  husband,  friend,  subject,  or  prince,  and  to  perform 
one's  rightful  duties,  is  the  task  set  before  us.  To  succeed  is  life 
and  joy  and  peace,  to  fail  is  destruction.  The  founder  of  Bud- 
dhism forsook  parents,  wife,  child,  and  Empire  in  the  search  for 
salvation."  —  "The  Development  of  Religion  in  Japan,"  p.  164. 

165 


^ 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

inordinate  desire  for  sons  that  the  absence  of  them 
is  a  warrant  for  divorce  or  for  taking  a  concubine. 
As  a  consequence  real  family  life  has  been  broken  up, 
and  female  infanticide  has  been  common.  The 
deficiencies  of  Confucianism  regarding  the  spiritual 
and  transcendental  have  led  the  people  of  China 
to  seek  these  in  Taoism  and  Buddhism. 
Let  us  now  briefly  examine 

Present-day  Confucianism  in  Korea 

From  the  very  earliest  times,  at  least  since  Kija 
came  to  bring  civilization  and  literature  to  this  people, 
Korea  and  China  have  mutually  looked  upon  each 
other  as  older  and  younger  brother,  and  although 
perchance  they  may  have  fraternal  bickerings,  this 
feeling,  to  a  large  extent,  continues  to  this  day ;  con- 
sequently anything  good  possessed  by  the  elder 
was  to  be  shared  with  the  younger,  and  at  a  very 
early  period  the  teachings  of  Confucius  were  in- 
troduced into  the  land.  The  exact  date  cannot  be 
definitely  known,  but  it  is  commonly  stated  that  the 
Chinese  classics  were  introduced  by  Choi  Chi  Won, 
who  lived  about  the  year  70  B.C.,  and  at  various  times 
history  records  subsequent  importations  of  books, 
pictures  and  images  of  Confucius,  as  well  as  at  cer- 
tain times  the  copying  of  such  pictures  and  images. 

During  the  dynasty  that  immediately  preceded 
the  present  one,  however,  from  917  to  1391  a.d., 
166 


UNIVERSE 

CONFUCIANISM 

Buddhism  was  in  the  ascendency,  but  even  during 
this  time  Confucianism  continued  its  existence 
side  by  side  with  the  more  dominant  foreign  religion, 
and  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  dynasty,  it  was 
made  the  standard  and  Buddhism  was  relegated  to 
the  background. 

Thus  Confucianism  has  practically  existed  in 
Korea  for  the  past  two  thousand  years,  but  in  its 
introduction  we  would  note  certain  phases  which 
seem  to  differentiate  it  from  the  cult  as  followed  in 
China.  It  was  really  adopted  as  a  moral  and  literary 
standard,  and  all  official  preferment,  as  in  China, 
was  made  to  depend  upon  proficiency  in  these 
classics.  Confucian  schools  were  established  broad- 
cast, estates  set  aside  for  their  upkeep  and  the 
teaching  of  the  classics.  Here  twice  a  month  the 
magistrate  must  appear,  and  with  proper  ceremonies, 
accompanied  by  some  of  the  literati,  bow  before  the 
picture  or  spirit  tablet  of  the  sage. 

Ancestral  worship  in  Korea  may  be  said  to  be 
a  miniature  copy  of  that  of  China,  not  in  the  sense 
of  containing  less  of  its  spiritual  or  ethical  elements, 
but  in  being  more  meagre  and  simple  in  the  matter 
of  ceremonial  and  rite. 

There    have    been    certain    other    modifications. 

There  was,  of  course,  introduced  the  idea  that  it 

was    especially   the    emperor  who    should   worship 

the  Heavens.     There  was  no  attempt  to  copy  the 

167 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

gayly  decorated  temple  of  Pekin,  but,  as  we  noted 
in  the  last  lecture,  the  simple  primitive  altar  still 
remained  in  use;  and  while  in  a  peculiar  way  the 
monarch  was  looked  upon  as  a  sacred  personage, 
as  a  younger  "Tien  Cha,"  "Son  of  Heaven,"  and 
consequently  specially  fitted  to  lead  in  this  worship, 
it  has  not,  even  to  this  day,  been  restricted  to  his 
majesty,  but  was,  as  we  have  seen,  considered  open 
to  the  people  themselves.  His  position  and  relation 
to  the  Heavens  simply  fitted  him  the  better  to  be  in 
this,  as  in  other  things,  the  leader  of  the  country, 
the  father  of  the  people. 

Confucius,  as  has  just  been  said,  also  was  honored 
throughout  Korea,  but  there  was  not  the  same 
formality  in  the  worship.  It  is  rare  indeed  to  find 
images  in  the  Confucian  temples.  The  spirit  tablet 
is  more  commonly  seen,  though  not  infrequently 
his  picture  is  there,  and  often  these  temples  are  called 
simply  tablet  houses.  Before  them  stands  the  Hong 
Sal  Moun,  and  to  them  twice  a  month  the  magis- 
trates, with  appropriate  officials  and  some  of  the 
literati,  come  and  prostrate  themselves  with  praises 
of  the  sage.  Sacrifices  to  him,  such  as  are  seen  in 
China,  are  unknown  in  Korea,  except  where  some 
individual  just  returning  from  "the  Middle  King- 
dom" tries  to  copy  what  he  had  seen.  Many  deny 
that  this  is  worship,  and  do  so  with  much  reason  on 
their  side.  An  official  whom  I  know  well,  a  convert 
i68 


CONFUCIANISM 

to  Christianity,  performed  this  service,  claiming 
that  it  was  simply  a  custom  thus  to  honor  the  sage, 
and  yet  his  own  father  who  had  not  professed  con- 
version publicly  stated  that  in  his  opinion  it  was 
real  worship,  and  that  his  son,  as  a  Christian,  sinned 
every  time  he  obeyed  this  official  rule. 

Confucianism  dealing  entirely  with  the  past 
encouraged  in  Korea  that  desire  for  seclusion  which 
had  kept  her  doors  closed  so  many  years,  but  on 
the  other  hand  the  moral  code  has  been  an  element 
of  uplift  here,  and  as  she  was  able  to  avoid  the  Con- 
fucian imperial  exclusiveness  in  the  worship  of  the 
supreme  God,  and  to  maintain  very  much  of  her 
primitive  purity  and  simplicity,  she  has  steered 
clear  of  some  of  the  submerged  rocks  on  which  the 
faith  of  her  neighbor  has  been  wrecked.  Her  very 
belief  in  Hananim,  and  the  fact  that  the  people  are 
not  barred  from  approaching  him,  has,  as  we  saw, 
been  an  incalculable  good.  While,  as  a  result  of 
their  earnest  desire  for  sons  to  sacrifice  to  their 
spirits,  divorce  and  concubinage  have  come  in  much 
to  the  detriment  of  family  life,  female  infanticide  is 
unknown,  and  the  parents  may  say,  "  We  wish  it  had 
been  a  boy,  but  Hananim  has  given  us  a  girl,  and 
we  must  acquiesce  in  his  will."  Great  solicitude  and 
aflfection  is  manifested  in  most  Korean  families  for 
daughters  as  well  as  sons. 

In  connection  with  the  ancestor  worship  in  Korea 
169 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

should  be  noted  certain  of  the  mourning  customs 
affected  by  this  strong  and  constant  final  reference 
of  most  things  to  Hananim.  As  in  the  neighboring 
country,  so  here,  of  course,  there  is  great  wailing  and 
weeping,  but  there  are  certain  aspects  of  these  rites 
that  call  for  special  mention.  The  sons  immediately 
upon  the  death  of  a  father  or  mother  pull  down  the 
hair,  usually  knotted  on  top  of  the  head,  robe  them- 
selves in  the  coarsest  sackcloth,  girdle  themselves 
with  a  hempen  rope  or  band,  go  outside  the  house  to 
a  shed,  on  the  floor  of  which  straw  is  scattered ;  and 
when  the  mourner  passes  out  beyond  this  shelter,  his 
head  is  covered  with  a  large,  low,  drooping  hat  which 
completely  shields  his  face  from  the  Heavens,  and 
he  carries  in  his  hand  a  screen  to  assist  in  hiding  his 
guilty  countenance.  All  these  details  are  illustra- 
tions of  the  one  salient  idea  that  the  death  of  the 
parent  is  a  punishment  sent  from  Heaven,  a  curse 
expressing  the  anger  of  Heaven  against  the  son  for 
some  sin,  and  he  may  no  longer  wear  his  hair  in  the 
topknot,  which  is  the  symbol  of  dignified  manhood 
and  citizenship,  but  must  in  every  respect  appear  as 
a  criminal  with  dishevelled  hair  before  his  judge; 
dare  not  look  up  to  the  Heavens,  against  whom  he 
has  sinned,  and  must  hide  his  shame  from  all;  and 
as  no  criminal  can  go  to  the  palace,  so  he,  until  the 
days  of  his  mourning  are  over,  cannot  enter  the  royal 
presence  except  by  special  rescript,  and  then  only 

170 


CONFUCIANISM 

after  the  removal  of  his  mourning  cloths  (the  insignia 
of  his  guilt) ;  nor  is  he  allowed  during  this  period  to 
sacrifice  or  unite  in  worship  to  the  Heavens. 

A  Korean  gentleman  of  high  education,  writing 
of  Confucianism,  arraigns  it  under  eight  counts,* 
summing  up  with  these  words :  — ■  ^-V 

"  A  system  of  ethics  yielding  the  fruit  of  agnosticism, 
selfishness,  arrogance,  despotism,  degradation  of 
woman,  cannot  be  pronounced  a  good  one.  If  other 
countries  can  make  a  better  use  of  it,  Korea  is,  or 
ought  to  be,  willing  enough  to  part  with  it  —  the 
sooner,  the  better." 

Let  us  now  turn  to 

Confucianism  in  Japan 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  introduction  of 
Buddhism  from  China,  through  Korea,  into  Japan,^ 
came  also  Confucian  teachings.     In  the  earliest  time 

*  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  IV,  No.  i. 

*  "One  to  whom  the  boundary  line  between  the  Creator  and 
his  world  is  perfectly  clear,  one  who  knows  the  eternal  difference 
between  mind  and  matter,  one  born  amid  the  triumphs  of  science, 
can  but  faintly  realize  the  mental  condition  of  the  millions  of 
Japan,  to  whom  there  is  no  unifying  thought  of  the  Creator- 
Father.  Faith  in  the  unity  of  law  is  the  foundation  of  all  science, 
but  the  average  Asiatic  has  not  this  thought  of  faith.  Appalled 
at  his  own  insigniScance  amid  the  sublime  mysteries  and  awful 
immensities  of  nature,  the  shadows  of  his  own  mind  become 
to  him  real  existences."  —  Griffis,  "The  Religions  of  Japan," 
p.  14. 

171 


RELIGIONS  OF  EASTERN  ASIA 

there  was  not  the  strife  that  arose  later  between 
these  two  cults,  and  Buddhist  monks,  with  their 
"  transcendental  ethical  code  "  for  the  initiated  and 
the  priesthood,  brought  also  the  practical  everyday 
ethics  of  Confucianism  for  the  multitude.  Side 
by  side  the  two  systems  were  allowed  to  grow  in 
knowledge  and  favor  among  the  people,  but  for  a 
thousand  years  Buddhism  was  in  the  ascendant,  and 
it  was  simply  the  ethics  of  Confucianism  with  but 
little  of  the  other  doctrines  of  either  Confucius  or 
his  later  commentators  that  were  promulgated  here. 

In  the  seventeenth  century,  however,  there  was 
a  sudden  impetus  given  to  civilization  in  this  land, 
and  under  the  patronage  of  Ye-Yasu  all  arts  and 
handicrafts  as  well  as  letters  were  given  a  wonder- 
ful impulse.  Chinese  classics  were  printed,  widely 
circulated,  and  a  college  was  established  at  Yeddo 
or  Tokio.  It  was  just  at  this  time  that  the  Manchus 
overcame  the  Mings  in  China,  and  with  the  fall  of 
this  dynasty  many  of  its  adherents  were  forced  to 
flee  for  safety  to  Japan,  and  still  larger  numbers 
chose,  rather  than  recognize  the  rule  of  "northern 
barbarians,"  to  seek  an  asylum  in  the  same  islands. 

Many  of  these,  being  the  scholars  of  China,  were 
most  heartily  welcomed  by  both  rulers  and  people  at 
this  the  time  of  the  renaissance  of  Chinese  literature 
in  Japan.  These  new  teachings  sought  in  a  peculiar 
way  to  tell  the  characteristics  of  the  "superior  man" ; 
172 


CONFUCIANISM 

and  while  the  Confucian  idea,  as  pretty  generally 
accepted  in  both  China  and  Korea,  was  that  any 
man  could  by  study  and  application  attain  to  the 
position  of  this  "superior  man,"  when  at  this  time 
their  teachings  were  received  by  Japan,  with  its 
feudalism,  they  were  commonly  accepted  as  special 
teachings  for  the  "superior  man"  of  the  Japanese 
system.  With  such  modifications  as  the  conditions 
of  Japanese  life  demanded  they  were  accepted  as 
rules  for  the  Samurai,  but  of  course  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  common  people  as  a  class. 

Confucianism  as  it  came  to  Japan,  being  accepted 
at  the  stage  of  almost  its  latest  development,  was 
received  more  as  a  philosophy,  and  the  pantheism 
of  later  commentators  rather  than  the  practical 
polytheism  of  the  present-day  system  of  China  and 
Korea  has  been  accepted.  Schools  were  established 
all  over  the  islands,  and  for  over  two  hundred  years 
the  Confucian  classics  were,  as  in  China  and  Korea, 
so  in  Japan,  the  basis  of  education. 

But  the  reason  for  the  systematizing  of  Shinto 
had  been  the  establishment  of  the  reigning  house 
in  security  on  the  throne.  Shintoism  and  all  its 
worship  centred  in  this,  and  was  nothing  if  not 
loyal  to  the  Sun-god  and  her  imperial  offspring,  the 
mikado.  Buddhism  in  incorporating  Shinto  had 
accepted  the  doctrine.  The  very  spirit  of  all  Japanese 
life  was  loyalty,  and  consequently  when  the  ethics 

173 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

of  Confucianism  were  received,  this  became  the 
corner-stone  ^  of  its  Japanese  form,  in  place  of  the 
filial  piety  in  China  and  Korea. 

The  "Five  Relationships"  dwelt  upon  in  Con- 
fucian ethics,  namely,  between  prince  and  subject, 
father  and  son,  older  and  younger  brother,  husband 
and  wife,  and  friend  and  friend  (it  should  be  noted 
that  these  are  not  treated  as  if  mutual  relations, 
except  the  last,  but  rather  in  each  case  in  regard  to 
the  duty  and  respect  paid  by  the  lower  to  the  higher) 
were  all  received,  but  loyalty  was  made  the  key- 
stone and  all  the  rest  modified  to  suit  it.     While  in 

*  "  Although  the  Chinese  teacher  had  made  filial  piety  the  basis 
of  his  system,  the  Japanese  gradually  but  surely  made  loyalty 
(Kunshin),  that  is,  the  allied  relations  of  sovereign  and  minister, 
of  lord  and  retained,  and  of  master  and  servant,  not  only  first  in 
order,  but  the  chief  of  all.  They  also  infused  into  this  term  ideas 
and  associations  which  are  foreign  to  the  Chinese  mind.  In  the 
place  of  filial  piety  was  Kunshin,  that  new  growth  in  the  garden 
of  Japanese  ethics,  out  of  which  arose  the  white  flower  of  loyalty 
that  blooms  perennial  in  history. 

"  This  slow  but  sure  adaptation  of  the  exotic  to  its  new  environ- 
ment, took  place  during  the  centuries  previous  to  the  seventeenth 
of  the  Christian  era.  The  completed  product  presented  a  growth 
so  strikingly  different  from  the  original  as  to  compel  the  wonder 
of  those  Chinese  refugee  scholars,  who,  at  Mito  and  Yedo,  taught 
the  later  dogmas  which  are  orthodox  but  not  historically  Con- 
fucian. 

"  Herein  lies  the  difference  between  Chinese  and  Japanese 
ethical  philosophy.  In  old  Japan  loyalty  was  above  filial  obe- 
dience, and  the  man  who  deserted  parents,  wife,  and  children  for 
the  feudal  lord  received  unstinted  praise.  The  corner-stone  of 
the  Japanese  edifice  of  personal  righteousness  and  public  weal 
is  loyalty."  —  Griffis,  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  iii. 


CONFUCIANISM 

China  it  was  the  scholar  pursuing  varied  avocations 
who  was  the  hero  of  the  stories  illustrating  the  five 
principals,  in  Japan  it  was  the  warrior,  and  every 
one  of  the  other  four  relationships  might  be  violated 
and  the  offender  would  be  honored  if  in  such  a 
violation  he  were  acting  from  loyalty  to  his  sovereign. 
In  fact,  the  spirit  of  loyalty,  which  has  sometimes 
been  termed  "Bushido,"  has  been  almost  deified, 
and  the  Japanese  attitude  toward  this  virtue  might 
well  be  characterized  as  worship.  While  the  Con- 
fucianism which  entered  Japan  has  been  pretty  gen- 
erally acknowledged  to  have  been  the  pantheistic  ^ 
realism  of  the  Chu  Hi,  do  we  not  see  that  under 
the  influence  of  the  "spirit  of  Japan"  it  has  developed 
into  a  pantheistic  idealism,  with  Bushido  as  its  deity  ? 
The  Japanese  never  really  accepted  the  worship 
of  the  sage.  Schools,  as  we  noted,  were  early  estab- 
lished in  his  honor,  and  here  picture  and  tablet 
houses  were  placed,  and  to  these  the  literati  thronged, 
and  by  prostrations  and  bows  did  honor  to  his 
memory,  but  there  was  little  of  worship  in  it.  The 
schools  and  temples  have,  however,  fallen  into  disuse, 
and  according  to  Dr.  Gulick  only  one  with  its  temple 
remains  to-day,  while  the  "gold-covered  statues  of 

* "  The  philosophy  of  modern  Confucianism  is  wholly  pantheistic. 
There  is  in  it  no  such  thing  or  being  as  God.  The  orthodox 
pantheism  of  old  Japan  means  that  everything  in  general  is  god, 
but  nothing  in  particular  is  god,  that  all  is  God,  but  not  that 
God  is  all."  —  Griffis,  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  143. 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

the  once  deified  teacher  have  been  sold  to  the  curio 
dealers." 

While  it  does  not  bear  necessarily  on  the  main 
subject  of  these  lectures,  yet  in  passing  it  may  be 
noted  that  Confucianism  has  had  a  wonderful  effect 
upon  the  morals  of  the  Japanese.  Shinto,  we 
observed  in  our  second  lecture,  has  had  no  ethical 
code  at  all,  and  while  we  are  not  justified  for  one 
moment  in  alleging  that  the  absence  of  such  a  code 
meant  the  absence  of  all  ethics,  we  can  readily  see 
the  great  good  that  Confucianism  did  for  all  Japan 
in  the  presentation  of  this  rigid  code.  Although  it 
had  no  vitalizing  power,  it  gave  them  a  norm  by 
which  to  measure  their  lives,  a  law  by  which  they 
might  gain  a  conviction  of  sin,  and  a  standard  to 
which  they  might  aspire. 

Here,  then,  is  a  man,  the  simple  grandeur  of  whose 
life  has  for  twenty  and  more  centuries  appealed  to, 
and  been  the  guiding  star  of,  nearly  five  hundred 
million  of  people  in  three  empires. 

He  found  himself  unable  to  solve  the  great  mys- 
teries of  the  universe,  and  to  a  certain  extent,  as 
far  as  his  mere  statements  of  doctrine  are  concerned, 
he  must  be  classed  as  agnostic,  and  yet  in  his  life 
and  practice  he  was  a  believer  in  the  ordinance  of 
Heaven,  a  worshipper  of  this  and  other  gods,  a  firm 
believer  in  the  justice  of  the  supreme  God,  and 
confident  in  his  trust  in  Him. 

176 


CONFUCIANISM 

He  seems  also  to  have  been  assured  that  man  was 
the  offspring  of  Heaven,  and  ahhough  it  may  be 
stated  that  "he  was  without  a  Creator,"  we  should 
rather  conclude  that  in  regard  to  this  he  hesitated 
to  dogmatize.  Later  followers  added  considerably 
to  his  teachings,  some  even  plainly  avowing  life 
after  death,  Heaven  the  source  of  man,  and  a  nature- 
worship.  Other  commentators  went  more  into 
metaphysics;  some  holding  to  the  dual  principle 
from  which  they  assert  all  things  have  come  as  the 
real  beginning;  others  taking  over  some  of  the 
speculations  of  Taoism;  and  still  others  evolving 
for  us  a  realistic  pantheism,  with  a  sort  of  conserva- 
tion of  forces,  in  constant  generation  and  death, 
by  which,  with  a  kind  of  inherent  dynamic  power, 
nature  continues  to  bring  forth,  and  in  perishing, 
to  return  again  to  that  from  which  it  sprang. 

The  grand  old  man  Confucius  would,  I  deem,  be 
much  astounded  at  the    various    philosophies  and 
systems  which  bear  his  name.     An  agnostic  in  his 
teaching  as  to  spirits,  ancestors,  Heaven,  and  the 
future  life,  he  would  find  in  China  various  sects, 
pantheistic,  polytheistic,  and  agnostic,  —  all  claiming 
to  be  his  followers ;  and  in  their  polytheistic  pantheon 
he  would  find  himself  occupying  one  of  the  highest  | 
places,  seated  on  a  level  with  the  Heavens,  worshipped,  | 
up  to  within  a  year  or  two  ago,  by  all  the  people  of  I 
China,  but  now  placed  in  the  same  category  with 
N  177 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

the  Heavens,  and  by  imperial  rescript  raised  so  high 
that  only  the  emperor  may  worship  him. 

Crossing  over  the  Yalu,  he  would  find  in  the  little 
kingdom  of  Korea  his  name  still  revered  by  millions, 
but  those  who  do  him  honor  claiming  the  right  as 
individuals  and  as  a  nation  to  offer  worship  to  the 
Heavens,  whose  ordinances  he  had  honored.  He 
would  find  them  rigidly  following  his  precepts 
in  regard  to  ancestor  worship,  and  that  they  had 
erected  all  the  over  land,  in  every  city,  a  temple  to 
his  honor,  to  which  the  magistrates  and  literati  re- 
pair twice  a  month;  he  would  not  find  very  much 
of  the  metaphysical  teaching  of  his  later  disciples, 
but  would  find  a  nation  that  for  years  had  been 
willing  to  dwell  in  the  past,  and  as  to  the  eternal 
verities  content  or  at  least  submissive  to  let  ques- 
tions go  unanswered. 

Crossing  to  the  island  empire,  he  would  find  almost 
fifty  millions  who  honor  his  name,  and  with  the 
modifications  they  deemed  necessary  to  adapt  his 
teaching  to  their  needs,  striving  to  follow  his  pre- 
cepts. Here  the  teachings  of  the  later  commenta- 
tors have  held  such  sway  that  the  ultra-pantheism 
in  vogue  has  resulted  in  a  scepticism  that  doubts  the 
existence  of  God  and  all  future  life,  but  has  given 
rise  to  the  worship  of  an  ideal  in  the  spirit  of  loyalty. 

But  over  all  this,  and  in  all  these  three  nations, 
there  is  coming  a  change. 

178 


CONFUCIANISM 

In  Japan  to  a  great  extent  it  has  already  been 
accomplished.  Temples  to  Confucius  which  once 
existed  are  no  more.  As  we  have  seen,  only  one  in 
all  the  land  remains,  and  no  longer  is  real  worship 
offered  at  his  shrine.  A  new  day  has  dawned  in  the 
sunrise  kingdom. 

In  Korea,  also,  a  new  order  is  beginning.  Here  for 
years  these  classics  have  been  discarded  as  a  means 
of  civil  promotion,  and  a  national  desire  for  West- 
ern learning  having  arisen,  the  Confucian  colleges 
are  no  longer  thronged.  Many,  if  not  most,  of  the 
magisterial  temples  are  falling  into  ruin,  and  a  sad 
comment  on  the  ephemeral  nature  of  "our  little 
systems  which  have  their  day  and  cease  to  be"  is 
the  fact  that  the  columns  of  these  temples  are  fre- 
quently utilized  by  the  ubiquitous  bill  posters.  In 
a  few  cases  the  income  from  the  estates  for  the  sup- 
port of  these  schools  has  been  turned  over  by  local 
authorities  for  the  furtherance  of  modern  education. 

All  over  even  conservative  old  China  also,  which 
was  almost  the  embodiment  of  the  sage,  a  new  spirit 
has  been  born,  a  new  light  is  dawning.  Here,  too, 
no  longer  are  the  examinations  held  in  the  ancient 
classics.  Western  learning  is  becoming  the  means 
of  official  advancement,  and  government  schools 
that  make  the  sciences  instead  of  their  old  classics 
their  goal  are  under  the  care  of  foreign  teachers. 

Confucius'  memory,  however,  will  still  be  revered, 
179 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

but  rather  as  a  teacher  of  ethics,  for  the  greater 
light  that  he  himself  would  have  welcomed  is  rising 
upon  these  lands. 

APPENDIX  TO  LECTURE  IV,   Page   171 

1.  Confucianism  enfeebles  and  gradually  destroys 
the  faculty  of  faith.  It  is  an  agnostic  system.  He 
who  is  imbued  with  its  teachings  finds  it  hard  to  be- 
lieve in  any  truth  beyond  this  material  world  of  bread 
and  butter. 

2.  Confucianism  nourishes  pride.  It  tells  you  that 
your  heart  is  naturally  inclined  to  be  good  as  the  water 
is  to  seek  the  level.  In  the  name  of  wonders,  where 
did  the  first  evil  come  from,  then  ?  Further,  it  over- 
looks the  distinction  between  things  moral  and  mental. 
It  holds  that  if  you  are  moral,  —  that  is,  if  you  love 
your  father  and  mother,  —  you  will  know  everything 
under  the  blue  sky.  It  places  no  bounds  in  the  human 
understanding,  and  thus  makes  every  pedant  who  can 
repeat  the  classics  a  boundless  fool,  serene  in  the  flat- 
tering contemplation  that  he  is  verily  omniscient! 

3.  Confucianism,  knowing  no  higher  ideal  than  a 
man,  is  unable  to  produce  a  godly  or  godlike  person. 
Its  followers  may  be  moral,  but  never  spiritual.  The 
tallest  of  them,  therefore,  does  not  stand  higher  than 
six  feet  or  little  over.  On  the  other  hand,  a  Christian, 
having  God  to  look  unto  as  the  author  and  finisher 
of  his  faith,  is  a  man  all  the  way  up,  however  small  he 
may  be  in  himself.  In  other  words,  a  Confucianist 
begins  in  man  and  ends  in  man.  A  Christian  begins 
in  man,  but  ends  in  God.  If  through  human  imper- 
180 


CONFUCIANISM 

fections  a  Christian  fails  to  reach  godhkeness,  the  pos- 
sibiHty  remains  nevertheless  the  same. 

4.  Confucianism  is  selfish  or  rather  encourages 
selfishness.  It  never  says  go  and  teach,  but  come  and 
learn.  In  trying  to  make  men  keep  to  the  impossible 
doctrine  of  the  mean,  it  makes  them  mean,  narrow, 
calculating,  revengeful,  ever  ready  with  specious 
excuses  and  never  given  to  generous  adventures. 

5.  While  Confucianism  exalts  piety  to  the  position 
of  the  highest  virtue,  and  while  a  Confucianist  makes 
this  very  common  principle  hide  a  multitude  of  un- 
common sins,  the  whole  system  saps  the  foundation 
of  morality  and  probity  by  classifying  women  with 
menials  and  slaves.  When,  a  year  after  the  death  of 
the  expelled  wife  of  Confucius,  his  son  wept  over  her 
loss,  the  great  sage  was  ofifended,  because  it  was  im- 
proper that  a  son  should  so  long  mourn  over  his 
mother's  death  while  the  father  still  lived;  a  woman, 
in  the  Confucian  morahty,  is  virtuous  in  proportion 
as  she  is  dull. 

6.  Confucianism  aims  to  make  people  good  through 
legislation.  It  is  true  that  the  founders  of  the  earliest 
dynasties  of  China  were  great  and  good  men,  but  is 
it  not  equally  true  that  the  majority  of  princes  of  even 
these  model  dynasties  abused  their  power?  Is  it  not 
true  that  during  the  time  of  Confucius  and  of  Mencius 
the  reigning  princes  were,  most  of  them,  notoriously 
bad?  Suppose  either  of  these  sages  did  find  a  virtuous 
prince  who  could  carry  out  the  doctrines  of  the  ancient 
kings,  was  it  at  all  sure  that  the  succeeding  princes 
would  keep  them  up?  It  is  amazing  how  short-sighted 
Confucianists  seem  to  be  not  to  have  seen  the  folly  of 

181 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

committing  the  moral  welfare  of  a  nation  into  the  hands 
of  absolute  monarchs  whose  surroundings  and  tempta- 
tions were  and  have  been  notoriously  unfavorable  to 
the  growth  of  virtues.  The  idea  of  reforming  a  society 
through  the  reformation  of  each  individual  of  the  mass 
seems  never  to  have  crossed  their  mind. 

8.  The  hunger  and  thirst  after  office  for  which 
Confucius  himself  set  a  conspicuous  example.  Most 
readily  do  I  admit  that  he  was  actuated  by  the  purest 
motives  to  seek  after  office.  Yet  as  a  drunkard  throws 
over  his  weakness  a  kind  of  religious  sanction  by 
quoting  Paul's  injunction  to  drink  a  little  wine  for  the 
stomach's  sake,  every  Confucianist  who  runs  after 
office  for  nothing  but  the  squeezing  there  is  in  it  sancti- 
moniously tells  you  that  he  is  following  the  steps  of 
Confucius.  —  Hon  Yun  Chi  Ho,  Korean  Repository ^ 
189s,  p.  403. 


182 


LECTURE   V 

Buddhism 

We  have  now  come  to  the  last  of  the  foreign 
religions  under  discussion,  the  second  of  those  ad- 
hered to  in  all  three  countries,  —  Buddhism,  —  one 
of  the  few  which  have  reached  world-wide  extension. 

We  first  considered  the  three  ethnic  faiths,  the 
Taoism  of  China,  the  Shintoism  of  Japan,  and  the 
Shamanism  of  Korea,  each  of  which  has  been  in 
a  peculiar  way  restricted  to  its  own  field. 

Then  we  undertook  a  hurried  study  of  the  Mongo- 
lian faith  adhered  to  by  all  these  peoples,  the  dictum 
of  its  founder  being  that  "  those  of  the  four  seas  are 
all  brothers,"  although  it  is  generally  admitted  that 
in  saying  this  Confucius  referred  solely  to  China 
and  her  near  neighbors.  The  thought  of  his  system 
reaching  a  world-wide  extension  does  not  appear  to 
have  occurred  to  him,  and  in  fact  this  never  has  been 
attained. 

We  are  now  to  consider  the  only  religion  claiming 
to  be  a  world  faith  that  up  to  the  present  has  ex- 
ercised a  dominant  influence  over  the  peoples  whose 
theisms  we  are  studying,  and  we  must  not  fail  to 

183 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  Buddhism  holds  a  large 
share  of  the  world's  population  as  its  devotees. 
Roman  Christianity,  it  is  true,  did  for  a  short  time 
bid  fair  to  have  a  strong  hold  upon  China,  but  this 
w^as  lost,  and  it  may  with  truth  be  said  that  Bud- 
dhism is  the  only  world  religion  that  has  exercised  a 
marked  control  among  these  peoples. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  into  an  exhaustive 
study  of  this  most  interesting  faith,  but  if  we  are 
to  understand  the  part  it  has  played  and  is  to-day 
playing  in  these  three  countries,  it  will  be  essential 
that  we  first  take  a  rapid  survey  of  Buddhism  in 
general,  and  then  consider  the  phases  developed  in 
China,  Japan,  and  Korea,  and  if  possible,  learn  to 
differentiate  between  the  forms  in  the  three  countries. 
We  shall  be  compelled  to  keep  as  carefully  as  possible 
within  the  limits  of  our  subject  and  treat  only  such 
parts  as  reveal  the  ideas  of  God  that  were  through 
it  developed  among  them. 

A  few  words,  then,  as  to 

Buddhism  in  General 

It  is  impossible  and  unnecessary  here  to  go  care- 
fully into  the  pros  and  cons  in  regard  to  the  existence 
of  the  original  Buddha,  Gautama,  or  Sakyamuni. 
Of  course,  all  are  aware  that  Buddha  is  not  a  per- 
sonal name,  but  may  be  said  to  be  an  adjective,  or 
to  express  rather  a  quality,  a  condition  of  being  ac- 


BUDDHISM 

cording  to  which  all  men  should  desire  to  become 
Buddhas,  to  attain  to  Buddhahood,  as  we  shall  find 
Gautama,  the  Sakyamuni  or  Sakya  —  sage,  doing. 
So  many  legends  have  been  allowed  to  grow  up 
around  his  life  that  many  believe  that  he  is  himself  a 
myth,  but  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  the  most 
competent  is  that  he  is  historical. 

The  founder  of  Buddhism  was  born  probably  about 
500  B.C.,  in  a  city  to  the  north  of  Benares  in  India,  and 
many  claim  that  he  lived  and  died  having  no  idea  that 
he  was  originating  a  new  faith.  We  are  told  he  was 
the  son  of  a  royal  house  kept  ignorant  from  child- 
hood of  the  world  and  its  evils.  When,  however,  he 
at  last  inevitably  learned  of  old  age,  sickness,  and 
death,  and  all  the  multitudinous  miseries  following 
in  their  train,  he  rebelled,  and  finding  no  help  or 
hope  offered  in  the  religious  or  philosophic  systems 
known  to  his  people,  he  left  his  home,  his  wife,  and 
infant  child  to  seek  a  way  out  —  to  discover  the 
secret  of  peace  of  mind  and  release  from  the  woes 
of  life.  Here  is  the  key-note  of  his  system,  release  — 
escape;  it  looks  no  higher,  it  goes  no  farther, 
at  least  so  far  as  its  author  and  his  immediate  fol- 
lowers were  concerned. 

He  lacked  nothing  that  could  make  this  life  worth 
living.  Young,  strong  in  both  mind  and  body, 
with  wealth  and  rank,  and  apparently  everything 
that   heart   could  desire,  none  of   these    held  him, 

18^ 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

and  sacrificing  all,  he  made  what  Buddhists  call  the 
"Great  Renunciation."  He  exchanged  garments 
with  a  beggar  and  went  from  place  to  place,  learning 
all  that  hermits  and  others  could  teach,  but  to  no 
purpose.  Finally  while  resting  under  a  fig  tree  he 
perceived  that  the  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  peace 
is  "desire,"  and  that  this  must  and  can  be  overcome. 
Here  lay  the  solution  of  the  mystery  of  life,  through 
inward  culture  and  constant  meditation  the  desires 
can  be  extinguished.  Thus  did  he  attain  Buddha- 
hood.  The  whole  world  was  changed  in  a  moment. 
All  things  were  now  clear  to  him,  and  he  at  once 
decided  to  preach  and  demonstrate  this  to  all  men. 

Of  course  innumerable  legends  and  myths  sur- 
round the  later  Buddhistic  accounts  of  these  times, 
and  as  the  disciples  of  this  cult  according  to  their 
doctrine  can  tell  prenatal  history,  this  too  in  these 
legends  plays  an  important  part.  According  to 
them  this  was  not  Gautama's  first  appearance  on 
this  earth.  In  fact,  he  had  already  had  some  five 
or  six  hundred  existences,  and  his  last  birth  and  life 
were  all  attended  by  wonderful  miracles,  but  we 
omit  all  this  and  simply  confine  ourselves  to  the 
historic  facts  as  we  believe  they  can  be  culled  and 
as  given  above. 

After  what  he  believed  to  be  a  wonderful  discovery, 
he  began  to  tell  it  far  and  wide.  The  good  news 
he  had  learned  by  meditation  and  introspection  he 

i86 


BUDDHISM 

could  not  keep  to  himself.  Crowds  followed  him, 
and  from  place  to  place,  from  city  to  city,  they  travelled 
with  the  great  message.  Gautama  was  a  sort  of 
John  the  Baptist  to  India,  with  the  difference  that 
while  he  was  a  stoic  and  preached  asceticism  and 
correct  living  to  his  nation  as  a  means  of  salvation 
from  sorrow,  —  the  resultant,  a  living  death,  — 
John  the  Baptist  practised  asceticism  and  preached 
correct  living  as  a  preparation  for  a  higher  life  and 
communion  with  a  holy  God  or  Father,  —  the  result- 
ant, a  holy  man  infilled  by  God. 

Gautama's  statement  was  that  he  had  discovered 
four  great  truths  or  verities :  — 

First,  that  existence  is  misery,  being  followed  or 
accompanied  by  sickness,  old  age,  and  death; 
it  were  better  not  to  be. 

Second,  that  the  cause  for  this  lay  in  the  desires 
and  lusts  of  men. 

Third,  —  and  this  he  considered  his  great  discovery, 
—  that  pain  and  misery  could  be  made  to  cease 
by  conquering  desire,  and  that  through  complete 
victory  Nirvana  be  attained.  To  Gautama  Nirvana 
meant  this  perfect  rest.  Its  literal  meaning  is  "de- 
funct," "extinct."* 

*  "If  the  Chinese  equivalents  can  be  relied  on,  Nirvana  means 
'entire  destruction,'  which  is  nothing  less  than  annihilation,  and 
it  possesses  all  the  qualities  we  ascribe  to  annihilation,  as  it  is 
'the  complete  extinction  of  all  personal  and  individual  being.' 
In  the  translations  of  the  Indian  Sutras  into  Chinese,  over  and 

187 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

His  fourth  truth  was  that  there  is  a  way  which 
leads  to  this  desired  end,  and  this  way  became  the 
basis  of  his  ethical  code.  In  this  way  he  found  eight 
steps :  — 

1.  Right  faith  in  Buddha's  doctrine. 

2.  Right  intentions,  —  devoting  of  one's  self  to  a 

religious  life,  becoming  a  monk. 

3.  Right  talk,  — ■  reciting  Buddha's  laws. 

4.  Right  actions,  —  those  of  a  monk. 

over  is  Nirvana  described  as  'absolute  annihilation';  so  this 
great  religion  of  Asia  ends  *  in  nothingness  as  the  issue  and  crown 
of  being.'  "  —  Dubose,  "  The  Dragon,  Image,  and  Demon,"  p.  228. 
Note  Rhys  Davids'  interpretation  of  Nirvana.  This  scholar 
says,  speaking  of  Buddhism  in  general:  "What  then  is  Nirvana, 
virhich  means  simply  going  out,  extinction;  it  being  quite  clear, 
from  virhat  has  gone  before,  that  this  cannot  be  the  extinction  of 
a  soul  ?  It  is  the  extinction  of  that  sinful,  grasping  condition  of 
mind  and  heart,  which  would  otherwise,  according  to  the  great 
mystery  of  Karma,  he  the  cause  of  renewed  individual  existence. 
That  extinction  is  to  be  brought  about  by,  and  runs  parallel  with, 
the  growth  of  the  opposite  condition  of  mind  and  heart;  and 
is  complete  when  that  opposite  condition  is  reached.  Nirvana  is 
therefore  the  same  thing,  as  a  sinless,  calm  state  of  mind;  and 
if  translated  at  all,  may  best,  perhaps,  be  rendered  'holiness'  — 
holiness,  that  is,  in  Buddhist  sense,  perfect  peace,  goodness,  and 
wisdom. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  Nirvana  implies  the  ideas  of  intellectual 
energy,  and  of  the  cessation  of  individual  existence;  of  which 
the  former  is  not  essential  to,  and  the  latter  is  quite  unconnected 
with,  our  idea  of  holiness. 

"It  is  better,  therefore,  to  retain  the  word  Nirvana  as  the  name 
of  the  Buddhist  summum  bonum,  which  is  a  blissful  holy  state,  a 
moral  condition,  a  modification  of  personal  character."  — Rhys 
Davids,  "Buddhism,"  p.  iii. 

188 


BUDDHISM 

5.  Right  livelihood,  —  begging  alms. 

6.  Right  effort,  —  the  suppression  of  self. 

7.  Right  meditation,  —  such  as  leads  to  trance-like 

quietude, 

8.  Right  thoughts,  —  on  the  transitoriness  of  life. 
According  to  Gautama  all  that  is  seen  is  unreal, 

only  the  unseen  is  real.  He  granted  that  things 
exist,  but  how  or  whence  he  did  not  state.  He 
adopted  the  metempsychosis  of  Hindooism,  but  be- 
lieved that  by  contemplation  one  could  attain  Nir- 
vana, the  real  true  aim  of  all  existence. 

At  his  death  he  told  his  disciples  that  he  left 
them  two  witnesses  of  what  he  had  taught ;  namely, 
Dharma,  the  law,  and  Sangha,  the  church,  and  these 
two  with  Buddha  to-day  form  the  Buddhist  Trinity, 
and  the  priests  in  taking  their  vows  declare :  — 

"  I  take  refuge  in  Buddha. 

"I  take  refuge  in  Dharma  (the  law). 

"  I  take  refuge  in  Sangha  (the  church)." 

A  careful  study  of  the  earliest  records,  eliminating 
legends  and  myths  and  the  later  doctrines  which 
have  come  in,  must,  I  think,  lead  us  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  Guatama  had  no  theism  in  his  teachings 
at  all.  The  faith  he  taught  was  atheistic,  and  de- 
spite all  that  may  be  said  to  the  contrary  or  the 
subsequent  acts  of  the  founder,  it  was  at  least  in  its 
incipiency  in  no  way  altruistic,  but  selfish  in  the 

189 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

extreme.  He  felt  men's  needs  and  renounced  all 
that  he  might  learn  a  truth  for  others,  but  the  truth 
he  taught  was  individual  escape  from  misery  and 
sorrow.  True,  when  he  believed  that  he  had  found 
the  way,  he  hastened  to  tell  others,  but  the  way  itself 
led  to  extinction,  to  Nirvana,  to  non-existence;  the 
aim  was  a  kind  of  mental  and  physical  suicide. 

Having  no  God  in  his  philosophy,  of  course  he  had 
no  true  idea  of  sin.  Misery  he  knew,  pain  he  knew, 
trouble  he  knew,  but  all  these  came  from  desire, 
covetousness,  lust;  conquer  this  lust,  deny  this 
covetousness,  overcome  this  desire  and  non-exist- 
ence or  Nirvana  will  be  attained. 

And  now  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  way  idolatry 
first  crept  into  this  purely  metaphysical  system. 
While  Gautama  was  on  one  of  his  long,  wandering 
journeys,  the  king  made  an  image  of  him  that  he 
might  thus  remember  and  honor  the  sage,  who, 
on  returning,  allowed  this,  and  told  them  that  when 
he  had  gone,  it  would  speak  to  them  of  himself. 

Buddha,  Dharma,  and  Sangha  were  then  after 
his  death  personified,  and  images  were  made.  Then, 
too,  relics  came  also  to  be  honored.  Places  where 
the  prophet  had  stopped  became  sacred.  His  in- 
visible presence  was  thought  to  exist  in  these  places, 
which  were  thus  believed  to  be  sacred  and  so  were 
later  worshipped.  Thus  was  the  idolatry  of  Bud- 
dhism introduced.  When  from  the  study  of  the 
190 


BUDDHISM 

teachings  of  the  founder  we  find  that  he  was  athe- 
istic, we  are  at  first  startled  as  we  are  told  that  in 
Asia  Buddhism  stands  as  a  synonym  of  idolatry. 

Other  changes  too  were  early  made  in  the  faith 
as  delivered  by  Gautama.  His  simple  statements, 
it  was  said,  needed  development.  His  Nirvana 
was  distinguished  from  Buddha.  He,  at  his  earliest 
stage  under  the  fig  tree,  attained  Buddhahood,  and 
while  this  was  a  species  of  Nirvana,  it  was  not  the 
final  nihilism  into  which  he  passed  when  he  left  his 
body  and  was  absorbed  into  the  absolute. 

A  system  of  metaphysics,  intricate  in  the  extreme, 
also  grew  up,  and  in  the  various  schools  that  have 
since  arisen  many  contradictions  exist,  as  might  be 
expected.  Not  long  after  his  death,  a  schism  arose, 
and  we  have  southern  and  northern  Buddhisms,  and 
it  is  with  the  latter  in  its  varying  phases  that  we  have 
to  deal. 

We  have  thus  successively  seen  how  primitive 
monotheism,  Confucian  agnosticism,  and  Buddhistic 
atheism  have  all  of  them  ended  in  different  phases 
of  rank  polytheism. 

Before  we  turn  to  the  study  of  the  varied  phases 
that  this  faith  has  assumed  in  the  three  countries 
under  consideration,  it  would  be  well  to  note  one  or 
two  of  the  evident  causes  of  the  remarkable  success 
that  it  has  attained  in  winning  its  way  in  different 
countries  and  among  different  peoples. 

191 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

First,  we  would  note  the  life  of  the  founder.  Al- 
though the  adherents  of  later  times  and  in  other 
countries  have  some  of  them  steered  very  far  indeed 
from  the  teachings  of  Gautama,  it  must  be  conceded 
that  his  wonderful  life  of  renunciation  and  self- 
sacrifice  had  probably  no  little  to  do  with  the  rapid 
spread  of  the  doctrine  that  bears  his  name. 

Secondly,  we  would  call  especial  attention  to  the 
remarkable  system  of  morality  which  he  built  up  on 
this  fundamental  thought  of  the  annihilation  of  desire, 
the  extinction  of  lust.  This  Dharma,  this  law  of 
the  sage,  was  carefully  worked  out  in  detail.  He 
gave  them  his  decalogue  and  insisted  upon  an  ad- 
herence to  it. 

Thirdly,  this  salvation  from  misery  he  held  as 
attainable  only  by  entrance  into  the  Sangha,  the 
priesthood,  the  church.  While  he  did  allow  a  lay 
brotherhood,  it  was  indeed  only  by  entrance  into 
the  real  monkhood  that  Nirvana  could  be  attained. 
Every  really  saved  person  must  be  a  full  monk, 
completely  given  up,  that  is,  an  active  worker. 

Thus  we  see  the  Trinity  again  appearing,  Buddha 
the  strong  personality,  Dharma  the  rigid  law,  and 
Sangha  the  active  church,  all  immediately  respon- 
sible for  this  wonderful  development. 

A  fourth  element  of  success  is  seen  in  the  way  in 
which  this  system  answers  to  the  universal  subcon- 
scious conviction  that  in  renunciation  lies  the  sweetest 

192 


BUDDHISM  ^  y. 

happiness.  And  in  the  very  trinity  just  mentioned 
in  a  remarkable  way  Buddhism  provided  example 
in  the  life  of  Gautama,  method  in  its  law,  and  means 
through  its  order  for  this  victory  over  the  flesh  and 
triumph  over  man's  lower  nature,  in  which  every 
man  who  feels  in  his  heart  the  pride  of  being  takes 
intense  satisfaction. 

But  aside  from  all  these,  and  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  first  (the  person  of  Buddha),  the 
great  factor  in  the  rapid  development  of  Buddhism, 
has  been  the  chameleon-like  nature  of  this  system 
which  appears  almost  involuntarily  to  change  its 
color  to  suit  the  time  and  place  in  which  it  finds 
itself. 

Buddhism  has  always  been  and  is  to-day  ready  to 
adapt  itself  to  its  environment  to  a  far  greater  ex- 
tent beyond  all  comparison  than  any  other  known 
cult  of  whatever  clime  or  period.  Although  atheis- 
tic at  the  start,  atheism  did  not  suit  the  mind  of 
India,  and  Buddhism  soon  personified  its  abstract 
principles,  and  deifying  these,  was  prepared  to  meet 
the  theistic  concepts  of  the  people.  Arriving  in 
Japan,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  lecture,  a  pan- 
theon was  found  already  in  existence,  which  did 
not  welcome  the  intrusion  of  gods  from  a  foreign 
land,  even  though  they  were  mere  deifications  of 
personified  abstract  qualities.  Nothing  daunted, 
after  years  of  successive  and  fruitless  contests,  it 
o  193 


5 

1.  <v    c3 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

again  "stooped  to  conquer,"  and  by  a  special  reve- 
lation it  was  found  that  Japan's  nature  gods  were 
former  "Bodhisattvas,"  and  thus  welcoming  them 
all  with  honor  into  her  pantheon,  peace  was  won. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  she  would  be  willing  to-day 
to  receive  under  her  aegis  the  one  Supreme  God 
whom  we  worship,  and  to  erect  altars  with  suitable 
images  to  represent  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
if  by  so  doing  it  were  possible  to  enfold  Christendom 
in  her  willing  arms. 

We  can  readily  see  how  with  a  polytheism  which 
already  had  an  ever  growing  pantheon,  a  few  more 
gods  would  not  crowd  it,  and  such  a  plan  might  be 
feasible;  but  with  a  monotheism  which  denies  the 
existence  of  any  but  one  Supreme  God,  this  would 
be  impossible. 

To  this  adaptability,  to  this  method  of  stooping 
to  win,  coupled  with  the  marvellous  personality  of 
Gautama,  is  due,  I  believe,  to  a  large  extent  the  won- 
derful success  of  Buddhism. 

Now  let  us  consider 

Buddhism  in  China 

From  most  ancient  times  there  seems  to  have 
been  a  certain  amount  of  intercourse  between  the 
tribes  of  Chinese  bordering  upon  India  and  the  peo- 
ple of  that  land,  and  we  are  led  to  believe  that 
in  the  very  earliest  days  of  Buddhism  some  of  its 
194 


BUDDHISM 

teachings  penetrated  through  some  of  these  tribes 
into  China.  It  was  doubtless  thus  that  this  rehgion 
first  became  known  among  the  people,  but  it  was 
formally  introduced  about  the  year  67  a.d.  It  is 
recorded  that  the  Emperor  Ming-Ti  in  the  third 
year  of  his  reign  had  a  marvellous  dream  which 
his  ministers  interpreted  as  having  to  do  with  the 
wonderful  new  religion  of  India.  He,  therefore, 
was  induced  to  send  an  embassy  to  search  for  books 
and  correct  tidings  of  the  new  faith.  His  messen- 
gers returned  with  pictures,  books,  relics,  and  two 
priests.  Thus  Buddhism  was  properly  installed 
in  the  kingdom  of  China.  But  it  was  not  to  be  all 
plain  sailing.  The  new  faith  was  to  meet  bitter 
opposition  and  persecution.  Looking  back  over  the 
distant  pages  of  history,  it  almost  seems  as  though 
Buddhism  won  a  speedy  victory  in  China.  Com- 
pared with  the  long  ages  of  this  nation's  history, 
the  time  that  it  took  to  become  firmly  rooted  seems 
short,  but  it  was  really  over  three  hundred  years. 

Various  were  the  embassies  for  books  and  relics 
and  help,  and  many  were  the  valuable  documents 
imported  into  China.  These  were  early  translated 
into  Chinese  and  have  formed  the  real  basis  of  the 
practice  and  philosophy  of  this  faith  in  all  three  of 
these  lands.  All  of  these  were  gathered  together 
into  a  great  collection  during  the  Ming  dynasty, 
and  although  known  to  exist,  were  not  accessible 
195 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

to  the  world  for  years,  but  later  through  the  persist- 
ent efiforts  of  Rev,  S.  Beal,  copies  of  the  whole  col- 
lection of  the  books  known  as  the  ''Sacred  Teach- 
ings of  the  Three  Treasures"  were  secured  and 
forwarded  to  London.  These  have  opened  up  a 
new  avenue  of  study,  but  the  work  is  very  volumi- 
nous. Beal's  catalogue  says:  "The  entire  series 
was  arranged  in  one  hundred  and  three  cases  or 
covers,  in  each  of  which  there  were  on  an  average 
twenty  volumes,  so  that  the  entire  number  of  vol- 
umes is  more  than  two  thousand.  Placed  one  above 
the  other,  the  books  in  the  collection  would  reach  to 
a  height  of  no  feet." 

These  represent  not  only  all  the  books  originally 
taken  from  India,  but  also  the  works  of  Chinese, 
with  commentaries,  etc.,  and  this  must  be  the  basis 
of  all  our  knowledge  of  the  theories  and  creeds  of 
this  religion  in  China,  Japan,  and  Korea,  as  the  two 
latter  countries  received  it  from  the  former.  Some 
of  these  books  have  already  been  translated  into 
English.  It  will  be  years  before  all  are  at  our  dis- 
posal, but  already  there  are  enough  to  enable  us  to 
decide  pretty  definitely  as  to  the  doctrines  of  this 
cult. 

Buddhism  maybe  fairly  regarded  as  a  philosophy  — 

some  even  claim  that  it  is  nothing  more;  and  while 

the  study  of  the  books  alone  might  lead  us  to  this 

conclusion,  we  must  acknowledge  that  in  practice 

196 


BUDDHISM 

it  undoubtedly  is  a  religion.  Its  philosophy  rests 
on  the  presence  of  sorrow  and  misery  in  the  world, 
its  aim  and  object  being  escape,  not  only  from  the 
trials  of  sickness,  old  age,  and  death,  but  of  birth 
itself.  It  then  represents  nature  as  a  constantly 
revolving  wheel,  going  up  simply  to  come  down 
again,  and  only  when  man  leaves  this  wheel,  when 
he  reaches  the  point  where  he  is  neither  subject  to 
death  nor  birth,  but  is  absorbed  in  Nirvana,  has  the 
real  end  been  attained.  The  existence  of  nature  is 
admitted,  a  cosmogony  is  evolved,  but  the  real  first 
beginnings  are  not  solved,  nor  is  any  attempt  made 
to  do  so,  the  question  is  not  even  asked. ^     All  things 

^  "Buddhism  does  not  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  pri- 
mary origin  of  all  things.  'When  Malunka  asked  the  Buddha 
whether  the  existence  of  the  world  is  eternal  or  not  eternal,  he 
made  him  no  reply;  but  the  reason  of  this  was,  that  it  was  con- 
sidered by  the  teacher  as  an  inquiry  that  tended  to  no  profit.' 
Buddhism  takes  as  its  ultimate  fact  the  existence  of  the  material 
world  and  of  conscious  beings  living  within  it;  and  it  holds  that 
everything  is  subject  to  the  law  of  cause  and  effect,  and  that 
everything  is  constantly,  though  imperceptibly,  changing.  There 
is  no  place  where  this  law  does  not  operate;  no  heaven  or  hell, 
therefore,  in  the  ordinary  sense.  There  are  worlds  where  angels 
live,  whose  existence  is  more  or  less  material,  according  as  their 
previous  lives  were  more  or  less  holy ;  but  the  angels  die,  and  the 
worlds  they  inhabit  pass  away.  There  are  places  of  torment 
where  the  evil  actions  of  men  or  angels  produce  unhappy  beings; 
but  when  the  active  power  of  the  evil  that  produced  them  is  ex- 
hausted, they  will  vanish,  and  the  worlds  they  inhabit  are  not 
eternal.  The  whole  kosmos  —  earth,  and  heavens,  and  hells  — 
is  always  tending  to  renovation  or  destruction;  is  always  in  a 
course  of  change,  a  series  of  revolutions,  or  of  cycles  of  which 

197 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

arise,  prosper,  decline,  decay,  die,  only  to  be  born 
again  in  some  other  form.  The  metempsychosis  ^ 
of  Buddhism  was  evidently  taken  from  Brahminism, 
the  condition  in  the  future  state  depending  upon  the 
life  in  this,  which  in  turn  is  dependent  upon  the  past, 
the  highest  hope  being  final  absorption  into  Nir- 
vana. We  have  termed  this  annihilation,  and  yet 
in  a  sense  it  is  not,  and  this  term  would  not  be  al- 
lowed by  the  Buddhists.  The  individual  is  gone, 
the  ego  is  no  more,  but  it  is  not  annihilation,  it  is 

the  beginning  and  end  alike  are  unknowable  and  unknown. 
To  this  universal  law  of  composition  and  dissolution,  men  and 
angels  form  no  exception;  the  unity  of  forces  which  constitutes  a 
sentient  being  must  sooner  or  later  be  dissolved;  and  it  is  only 
through  ignorance  and  delusion  that  such  a  being  indulges  in  the 
dream  that  it  is  a  separate  and  self-existent  entity."  —  Rhys 
Davids,   "Buddhism,"  p.   87. 

'  "It  is  probable  that  the  idea  of  transmigration  first  originated 
in  that  curious  trick  of  the  memory,  by  which  we  sometimes  feel 
so  sure  that  sensations  we  are  experiencing  have  been  experienced 
by  us  before,  and  yet  we  know  not  how  or  when. 

However  this  may  be,  the  belief  was  retained  in  Buddhism  as 
providing  a  moral  cause  for  the  suffering  condition  of  men  in  this 
birth;  and  as  Buddhism  does  not  acknowledge  a  soul,  it  has  to 
find  the  link  of  connection,  the  bridge  between  one  life  and  an- 
other, somewhere  else.  In  order  to  do  this,  and  thus  save  the 
moral  cause,  it  resorts  to  the  desperate  expedient  of  a  mystery  — 
one  of  the  four  acknowledged  mysteries  in  Buddhism  (which  are 
also  the  four  points  in  which  it  is  most  certainly  wrong),  the  doc- 
trine, namely,  of  'Karma.'  This  is  the  doctrine  that  as  soon  as 
a  sentient  being  (man,  animal,  or  angel)  dies,  a  new  being  is 
produced  in  a  more  or  less  painful  and  material  state  of  existence, 
according  to  the  'karma,'  the  desert  or  merit,  of  the  being  who 
had  died.  " — Rhys  Davids,  "Buddhism,"  p.  100. 

iq8 


BUDDHISM 

simply  absorption  into  Nirvana,  into  the  Absolute. 
This  Nirvana  was  "the  pure  soul"  of  Brahmin- 
ism,  but  it  is  definitely  asserted  that  it  is  not 
God. 

This  brings  us  to  the  question  as  to  what  Bud- 
dhism teaches  of  the  soul.  Of  the  soul  Buddhism 
teaches  nothing.  Of  spiritual  entities  it  appears  to 
be  ignorant.  Existence  passes  over  from  one  form 
to  another.  Life  in  one  becomes  life  in  another, 
but  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  spirit  which  thus 
passes  from  one  to  the  other,  no  personality,  no  en- 
during self  or  consciousness  of  life.  Says  Beal  in 
regard  to  this :  "  In  all  these  there  is  no  recognition 
of  soul  as  an  identical  personal  being;  it  is,  on  the 
other  hand,  denied.  There  remains,  after  the  in- 
dividual is  dead,  i.e.,  the  dissolution  of  the  five  con- 
stituents of  personal  being,  only  an  effect  which  fol- 
lows on  or  accompanies  the  cleaving  to  life  that  in 
the  ordinary  man  remains  undestroyed.  The  effect 
is  rebirth;  the  character  of  this  rebirth  depends 
on  the  'deeds  done'  the  'building  power'  of  the 
previous  life  or  lives.  The  occult  principle  departs 
and  constructs  another  house,  but  there  is  no  dis- 
tinct identity  that  is  reborn."  ^ 

According  to  Buddhism  this  rebirth  is  entirely 
dependent  upon  destiny,  acts  mechanically,  and  can- 
not be  changed  even  by  the  supernatural  powers, 

*  "Buddhism  in  China,"  p.  i88. 
199 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

which  practical  Buddhism  seemed  to  acknowledge 
as  existent  in  earlier  times  and  admitted  to  its 
pantheon  later.  In  the  person  reborn  there  is 
absolutely  no  knowledge  of  condition  in  a  previous 
existence,  and  such  knowledge  if  ever  obtained 
comes  only  with  the  aid  of  supernatural  power. 

Buddhism  originally  held,  in  fact,  the  very  thought 
that  the  mere  conception  of  the  existence  of  a  soul 
on  the  part  of  any  mortal  would  bring  sorrow.  This 
earlier  principle  gave  place  later  to  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  individuality  after  death,  as  is  plainly  seen 
in  the  doctrine  of  northern  Buddhism  relating  to 
paradise  and  hell,  in  the  former  of  which  the  good 
are  supposed  to  be  enjoying  the  presence  of  Buddha, 
and  in  the  latter  the  wicked  to  be  enduring  punish- 
ment and  torment.  Of  course.  Buddhism  in  China, 
on  its  arrival,  found  strong  adherents  of  ancestral 
worship,  the  salient  features  of  which  were  incorpo- 
rated in  accordance  with  the  eclecticism  for  which 
this  Indian  religion  was  remarkable. 

Whence  the  Buddhists  derived  their  own  distinc- 
tive teaching  of  the  after  life  in  a  heaven  and  hell 
it  is  difficult  to  say,  but  that  this  doctrine  exists  is 
very  obvious,  and  we  find  their  earliest  school  teach- 
ing that  there  are  eight  great  hells,  describmg  the 
punishments  administered  in  these  places,  and  the 
classes  of  sinners  assigned  to  each.  They  had  also 
their  belief  in  heavens  one  above  the  other,  the  high- 
200 


BUDDHISM 

est  of  all  admitting  of  no  thought,  the  condition 
being  transcendental. 

With  such  contradictions  as  we  see  here,  as  well 
as  those  which  we  shall  find  as  we  proceed,  with  the 
abstruse  doctrines  of  the  first  teacher,  some  of  them 
mutually  contradictory,  added  to  the  later  dictums 
of  the  strict  metaphysicians  and  the  practical  work- 
ings of  the  pragmatic  school,  with  the  great  diver- 
sions between  the  esoteric,  exoteric,  and  mesoteric 
Buddhists,  —  we  can  readily  understand  the  great 
difficulty  of  postulating  any  system  of  doctrine  con- 
cerning any  one  of  these  points  which  would  not 
flatly  contradict  some  other. 

Looking  now  at  the  ethics  of  Buddhism,  we  find 
that  it  is  entirely  dependent  upon  that  which 
Buddha  first  sought,  relief  from  misery,  sorrow, 
birth  and  death,  and  believing  this,  as  we  saw,  de- 
pendent upon  the  extinction  or  complete  subduing 
of  desire,  he  provided  his  "eight-fold  way,"  and 
this,  as  worked  out  in  detail,  is  the  ethical  code  of 
Buddhism. 

Sin  as  such  is  unknown,  its  sinfulness  does  not  enter 
into  this  consideration,  correct  living  brings  happi- 
ness, incorrect  living  misery.  Existence  in  the 
successive  stages  of  metempsychosis  deteriorates 
or  improves  in  accordance  with  conduct  until  final 
absorption  in  Nirvana.  Later  Buddhism,  as  we  saw, 
added  the  pleasures  of  a  heaven,  the  terrors  of  a 

20I 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

hell,  and  a  real  personality  to  enjoy  or  suffer  them 
as  an  extra  incentive. 
Let  us  now  consider  the 

Buddhist  Concept  of  God 

We  have  already  seen  how  Buddha  in  his  philoso- 
phy not  only  omitted  to  teach,  but  we  might  even 
say  denied,  the  existence  of  God.  All  his  statements 
were  atheistic,  unless  we  can  consider  his  Nirvana 
as  absoluteness,  infinity,  and  find  his  faith  thus  pan- 
theistic. Certainly  there  was  no  personality  in  his 
Nirvana,  it  was  absolute  and  infinite,  but  I  think 
most  students  of  his  doctrine  agree  that  as  Gautama 
gave  it,  it  was  atheistic.  Of  course  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged that  Buddha  admitted  the  existence  of 
supernatural  beings,  but  these  were,  may  we  not 
say,  the  invisible  powers.  They  did  not  control 
destiny,^  but  were  controlled  by  it.  In  his  sermon  on 
Mount  Sumeru  (in  all  probability  we  may  look  upon 
it  as  legendary,  but  if  so,  it  represents  the  conception 
at  least  of  those  followers  who  narrated  it)  he  is 

*  "  The  happiness  of  the  gods  themselves  —  men  or  animals  or 
plants,  perhaps,  in  some  former  birth  —  is  temporary,  and  marred 
by  the  consciousness  that  it  soon  must  end.  But  the  very  gods 
envy  the  blessed  state  of  those  who,  here  on  earth,  escaped  from 
the  floods  of  passion,  have  gained  the  fruit  of  the  Noble  Path, 
and  have  become  released  from  all  defilement,  free  forever  from 
all  delusion  and  all  sorrow,  in  that  rest  which  cannot  be  shaken,  — 
Nirvana  which  can  never  be  lost." — Rhys  Davids,  "Buddhism," 
p.  149. 

202 


BUDDHISM 

alleged  to  have  said,  "O  ye  gods  and  goddesses, 
think  not  that  your  estate  is  permanent  and  estab- 
lished in  the  skies,  you  also  must  descend  bound  to 
the  wheel  of  transmigration  and  return  as  men  to 
the  earth." 

In  the  Buddhist  cosmogony  there  is  no  place  for 
a  creator,  later  developments  of  northern,  per- 
haps all,  Buddhism,  introduced  from  a  study  of 
their  cosmogony  certain  deified  qualities  and  powers 
of  nature.  Such  deities  were  referred  to  by  Bud- 
dhists as  those  who  have  arrived  at  the  highest  place 
in  the  seven-spoked  wheel  of  its  metempsychosis, 
and  become  through  these  successive  changes  gods. 
If  this  were  a  name  used  arbitrarily  simply  to  refer 
to  grade  in  rank,  soon  to  be  followed  by  final  absorp- 
tion into  the  absolute,  and  to  them  no  divine  powers 
or  honors  were  ascribed,  we  might  eliminate  any 
consideration  of  them  as  affecting  the  present-day 
Buddhist  conception  of  God.  But  whatever  may 
have  been  the  earliest  idea,  we  find  these  deities  in 
the  present-day  Buddhist  pantheon,  considered  as 
working  within  their  sphere,  and  to  them  honors  can 
be  ascribed  and  prayers  offered. 

There  is  also  a  belief  that  has  crept  into  this 
system  in  a  power  derived  from  and  conceived  of  as 
residing  in  the  great  body  of  those  who  have  attained 
Buddhahood,  and  known  now  under  the  general 
term  of  "all  the  Buddhas."  This  is  supposed  to 
203 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

be  the  ''combined  virtue, "  and  is  a  purely  pantheistic 
idea,  as  they  are  beHeved  to  have  lost  their  individ- 
uality. 

As  in  India,  so  in  these  lands,  the  Buddhist  Trinity 
exists  and  is  worshipped  as  such.  Not  a  little  is 
made  of  the  fact  that  the  more  enlightened  Bud- 
dhist priests  will  tell  you  that  the  idols  are  not  neces- 
sary, that  they  do  not  worship  them,  and  that  we  find 
Buddhist  devotees  of  three  classes,  those  who  do  not 
need  and  even  forget  the  existence  of  the  idol,  those 
to  whom  the  idol  is  of  assistance  in  that  it  helps  the 
better  to  bring  the  real  idea  to  the  worshipper,  and 
the  more  vulgar  and  uneducated  who  worship  the 
idol  itself.  There  are  those  who,  resting  on  this  fact, 
have  tried  to  claim  that  these  idealistic  deities  are 
not  deities  at  all  in  the  eyes  of  the  more  enlightened 
Buddhists.  As  we  noted,  however,  in  our  previous 
lectures,  the  better  educated  heathen  of  all  religions 
do  not  worship  the  idol  per  se,  whether  it  be  image, 
rock,  tree,  sun,  or  heavens,  but  simply  look  upon 
these  as  either  the  physical  abode  or  representation 
of  the  being  adored,  and  the  fact  that  the  more  in- 
telligent Buddhistic  priests  recognize  this  is  no  argu- 
ment to  prove  that  they  are  not  deities.  Abstract 
ideas  have  been  taken,  personified  and  elevated  to 
the  position  of  gods. 

In  addition,  when  it  was  found  that  in  any  section 
there  were  those  who  strongly  adhered  to  the  worship 
204 


BUDDHISM 

of  any  specific  local  deity,  either  by  some  special 
revelation  or  the  alleged  study  of  some  book  or  a 
dream,  it  was  discovered  that  this  too  had  been  a 
Bodhisattva,  and  it  was  thus  admitted  to  the  com- 
pany of  their  gods. 

The  first  thought  in  connection  with  the  original 
image  of  Buddha  was  evidently  simply  that  of  re- 
membering the  founder  and  honoring  his  name,  but 
it  was  not  long  before  real  worship  was  offered  to 
the  image  as  is  done  to  this  day,  and  later  relics  of 
the  founder  and  the  places  he  visited  came  in  for  a 
share  of  devotion,  and  all  these  have  helped  to  swell 
the  number  crowded  into  its  pantheon.  Origi- 
nally, then,  Buddha's  teachings  were  atheistic.  Some 
of  his  earlier  disciples  asserted  ^  even  more  distinctly 
that  there  was  no  creator  and  that  no  god  existed. 

The  polytheism  now  existent  in  China  under  the 
name  of  Buddhism  has  admitted  very  many  of  the 
Taoist  deities,  and  as  we  noted  in  our  lecture  on 
Taoism,  it  is  often  impossible  to  tell  the  temples  of 
the  one  cult  from  the  other. 

But  what  is  thought  by  many  to  be  the  object  of 
the  most  general  Buddhistic  worship  in  China  is 
Kwanyin,  the  goddess  of  mercy,  who  is  so  called  be- 
cause it  is  believed  that  she  deigns  to  give  ear  to  all 
petitions,  and  there  are  those  who  insist  that  this 
doctrine  is  peculiar  to  China  and  northern  Bud- 
^  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  V,  No.  i. 
205 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

dhism.  Certainly  the  ideas  entertained  in  connection 
with  this  worship,  and  the  place  assigned  her  by  the 
Chinese  among  the  Buddhistic  deities,  are  contrary 
to  the  common  teachings  of  Buddhism.  Although 
some  say  she  is  worshipped  in  India  also,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  it  is  in  China  she  has  attained 
her  highest  place,  for  here  she  is  universally  honored 
and  esteemed,  and  prayers  to  her  are  thought  spe- 
cially efficacious. 

The  ritual  of  service  reveals  in  a  wonderful  way 
the  high  place  which  this  goddess  holds,  and  the 
crowds  that  throng  her  temples  show  her  popularity. 
It  is  very  evident  that  this  is  another  case  of  bo- 
dhisattva  or  the  personification  of  a  quality.  The 
idea  of  mercy  was  first  personified,  then  worshipped, 
and  she  now  holds  the  chief  place  among  these  per- 
sonifications, if  not  in  the  whole  Chinese  Buddhist 
pantheon.  A  careful  perusal  of  the  ritual  used  at 
this  worship  will  show  most  conclusively  that  this 
is  in  direct  antagonism  to  the  original  idea  of  Bud- 
dhism, in  which  there  could  be  no  superior  power 
to  whom  real  prayer  could  be  offered,  and  this 
form  of  worship,  we  believe,  exists  nowhere  out- 
side of  these  three  countries,  China,  Japan,  and 
Korea. 

There  is  another  form  of  superstition  that  in  a 
peculiar  way  has  crept  into  the  Buddhistic  worship, 
at  least  in  China  and  Korea.  This  is  in  connection 
206 


BUDDHISM 

with  the  deity  whom  they  call  Amitabha,  said  to  be 
the  father  of  Kwanyin  whose  worship,  it  is  believed, 
was  derived  from  Persia.*  He  is  also  called  the 
Eternal  One,  and  it  is  commonly  believed  that  the 
persistent  repetition  of  his  name,  or,  in  other  words, 
the  ceaseless  calling  upon  this  father  of  mercy,  if 
done  in  real  faith,  will  overcome  every  obstacle, 
every  difficulty,  heavenly  and  earthly,  spiritual  and 
physical.  You  may  break  nearly  all  the  canons  of 
Buddha's  Dharma  or  law,  you  can  forswear  alle- 
giance and  run  contrai;y  to  his  Sangha  or  church,  and 
so  long  as  you  have  not  denied  "all  the  Buddhas," 
such  a  persistent  prayer  will  overcome  the  destinies 
of  the  wheel  of  nature  and  bring  sure  and  eternal 
salvation. 

While  there  are,  of  course,  various  Buddhistic 
sects  in  China,  we  may  divide  them  all  into  three 
great  schools,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the 

^  "  In  this  absolute  trust  in  the  all-saving  power  of  Amida  as 
compared  with  the  ways  promulgated  before,  we  see  the  emergence 
of  the  Buddhist  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  the  simplifica- 
tion of  theology,  and  a  revolt  against  Buddhist  scholasticism. 
The  Japanese  technical  term,  "tariki,"  or  relying  upon  the  strength 
of  another,  renouncing  all  idea  of  ji-riki  or  self-power,  is  the 
substance  of  the  Jo-do  doctrine;  but  the  expanded  term  "  ta-riki 
chiu  no  ji-riki,"  or  self-effort  depending  on  another,  while  ex- 
pressing the  whole  dogma,  is  rather  scornfully  applied  to  the  Jo- 
doists  by  the  men  of  the  Shin  sect.  The  invocation  of  Amida 
is  a  meritorious  act  of  the  believer,  much  repetition  being  the 
substance  of  this  combination  of  personal  and  vicarious  work.  " 
—  Griffis,  "The  Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  268. 

207 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

exact  tenets  of  each  of  these,  as  will  be  readily  seen 
from  our  scheme  of  division,  will  show  still  other 
differences  within  themselves. 

We  take  as  the  basis  of  our  line  of  demarcation 
between  these  schools  the  exactness  with  which  the 
disciples  follow  the  practice  of  Gautama  in  his  efforts 
to  reach  Nirvana. 

First,  then,  we  would  note  the  contemplative  school, 
found  more  largely  in  the  southern  part  of  China. 
They  discard  entirely  the  reading  and  study  of  books, 
have  the  simplest  rules  possible  for  the  government 
of  their  brotherhoods,  and  spend  almost  their  entire 
time  in  introspection,  striving  as  did  the  original 
founder  by  simple  contemplation  to  attain  Budda- 
hood.  They  seem  to  desire  to  give  up  employment 
of  every  kind.  Correct  living  can  be  attained  only 
through  introspection,  their  maxim  seems  to  be  "do 
nothing,"  their  founder  is  said  to  have  spent  many 
years  gazing  on  a  wall,  and  is  spoken  of  as  the  wall- 
gazing  Buddha.  This  is  the  esoteric  school.  These 
are  "Buddhistic  mystics." 

The  second  or  exoteric  school  comprises  the  party 
who  believe  in  the  study  of  doctrine,  are  opposed  to 
contemplation,  and  advocate  most  earnestly  the  study 
of  the  teachings  of  Buddha  and  his  commentators. 
In  this  school  laws  are  carefully  laid  down,  nearly 
every  moment  of  each  day  is  filled  with  duties,  exact 
directions  being  given  as  to  the  most  trivial  things. 
208 


BUDDHISM 

These  disciples  may  be  called  "Buddhistic  prag- 
matists." 

The  third  school,  holding  a  middle  way,  which 
we  have  consequently  termed  "mesoteric,"  advocates 
both  study  of  books  and  meditation.  It  was  origi- 
nally started  by  a  man  who  had  first  belonged  to  the 
contemplative  school,  but  becoming  dissatisfied, 
taught  the  union  of  both  ideas.  Its  original  founder 
said,  "Without  knowledge  there  is  no  meditation, 
without  meditation  there  is  no  knowledge;  he  who 
has  knowledge  and  meditation  is  near  Nirvana." 
Of  this  school  Beal  says,  quoting  from  a  native 
worker,  "It  endeavors  to  find  the  middle  truth  in 
the  reconciliation  of  opposites."  The  priests  of 
this  sect  in  China  are  numerous,  quite  respectable 
and  well  instructed.  They  claim  that  they  can  wor- 
ship without  images  and  prefer  so  to  do,  but  that 
the  images  are  needed  for  the  vulgar. 

Buddhism  coming  to  a  land  of  Taoist  supersti- 
tions, with  its  charms  and  methods  of  exorcising, 
has  lent  itself  also  to  this,  and  the  priests  of  the  two 
latter  schools  have  allowed  this  to  be  introduced  into 
their  systems,  and  the  reciting  of  special  passages  to 
drive  out  demons  and  cure  diseases  is  not  uncommon. 
This  habit  is  prevalent  throughout  China,  and  from 
all  that  we  can  learn  is  much  more  common  here  than 
in  Indian  or  southern  Buddhism;  but  as  Beal  suggests, 
whether  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  Buddhism  found 
p  209 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

such  practices  in  China,  or  whether  it  is  a  natural 
development  of  Buddhistic  thought,  we  can  hardly 
tell.  He  says:  "It  is  plain  that  if  there  is  no  recog- 
nition of  a  personal  and  supreme  being,  and  yet 
no  distinct  denial  of  a  superior  power,  or  an  occult 
principle  that  may  be  brought  into  harmony  with  our 
own  being,  the  use  of  prayer  can  only  be  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  into  play  a  virtue  residing  in  the 
act  itself.  The  step  from  this  to  a  belief  in  a  vir- 
tue residing  in  the  words  is  a  very  small  one."  ^  The 
custom  belongs  in  a  measure  to  all  three  of  the  schools 
we  have  mentioned,  but  these  charms  were  more 
particularly  used  by  one  of  the  branches  of  the  exo- 
teric school.  It  is  the  principle  of  occult  power 
dwelling  in  the  repeated  words  which  may  be  in  an 
unintelligible  language,  and  while  all  three  schools 
have  used  it  somewhat,  it  is  generally  deemed  as  more 
particularly  the  prerogative  of  the  Yoga-Chara  or 
Tantra  section  of  the  exoteric  school.  As  we  learn 
from  its  history,  this  sect  was  very  prominent  in 
Japanese  Buddhism.  Buddhism  had  been  suc- 
cessively favored  and  persecuted  by  the  government 
of  China,  but  now  for  a  long  while  has  been  tabooed, 
and  yet  it  has  a  hold  upon  the  heart  and  life  of  the 
people  that  no  mere  government  edict  can  break. 

Much  more  might  be  said  on  every  phase  of  this 
religion,  but  the  limits  of  the  lecture  will  only  per- 

*  "Buddhism  in  China,"  p.  220. 
210 


BUDDHISM 

mit  us  to  take  a  cursory  glance  at  some  of  its  effects 
upon  the  nation  collectively  and  individually,  both 
beneficial  and  deleterious. 

Considering,  then,  the  benefits,  we  note  especially 
that  Buddhism,  when  it  first  came  to  China,  met  the 
national  cult  Confucianism  which  was  cold  formality 
in  the  extreme,  as  far  as  religious  observances  were 
concerned.  It  was  a  literary  religion,  having  as  its 
hero  the  man  who  had  given  them  their  six  classics. 
Buddhism,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  to  bring  a 
more  vitalizing  element  into  its  worship.  Gautama, 
in  even  the  meagre  historical  outline  of  his  life  we 
have  given,  evinced  in  an  unusual  way  renunciation 
and  self-denial,  and  this  doubly  so  when  clothed  in 
the  highly  colored  versions  of  legend  and  myth  in  the 
Buddhistic  books  given  the  nation. 

In  the  second  place,  not  only  in  the  object  of  their 
veneration  but  in  their  worship  itself  there  was  a 
marked  change.  Confucianism  lays  great  stress 
upon  the  actions  and  the  ritual  used,  and  Buddhism, 
on  the  other  hand,  however  far  the  exoteric,  or  even 
the  other,  schools  may  have  wandered,  always  lays 
great  stress  upon  contemplation  and  introspection, 
and  has  in  doing  so  added  what,  for  want  of  a  better 
term,  we  may  perhaps  call  a  spirituality  to  their 
worship  hitherto  unknown. 

Third.  The  aim  of  Confucianism  was  to  form  the 
superior  man,  the  scholar,  having  all  things  well 

211 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

regulated.  Buddhism,  on  the  other  hand,  despite 
the  fact  that  it  had  no  real  knowledge  of  sin,  offered 
to  the  nation  an  aim  that  was  far  higher,  in  that  all 
men  were  called  upon  to  strive  by  self-denial  and 
victory  over  the  animal  nature  for  Buddhahood. 

Edwin  Arnold  idealizing  the  Buddhistic  doctrines 
has  beautifully  expressed  the  charm  of  their  teaching : 

"For  love  to  clasp  Eternal  Beauty  close, 
For  glory  to  be  lord  of  self, 
For  pleasure  to  live  beyond  the  gods, 
For  countless  wealth  to  lay  up  lasting  treasure." 

Fourth.  Buddhism  allowing  women  to  enter 
nunneries,  to  become  "  religeuses, "  tended  materially 
to  raise  their  position.  By  so  entering  the  Sangha  or 
order  it  is  possible  for  them  finally  to  attain  Buddha- 
hood, but  it  should  be  remembered  that  this  can 
only  be  done  after  first  becoming  men  in  one  of  their 
transmigrations  through  a  previous  life  of  great 
virtue. 

Fifth.  We  would  note  that  the  very  doctrines  of 
Buddhism  have  in  many  respects  changed  their 
religious  ideal,  and  consequently  enriched  their 
religious  vocabulary.  Their  goddess  of  mercy  has 
helped  materially  to  make  them  realize  that  the  gods 
can  pity  and  feel  compassion  for  men  and  will  hear 
their  cries.  Their  Amitabha  with  its  absolute  call 
for  a  constant  faith  has  given  them  a  hint  of  the  true 

212 


BUDDHISM 

meaning  of  trust  and  confidence ;  their  Dharma,  with 
its  rules  and  laws,  has  given  them  a  norm  by  which  to 
measure  conduct,  and  their  treasures  of  heaven  and 
terrors  of  hell  have  added  a  motive,  however  partial 
and  incomplete. 

In  the  consideration  of  those  effects  that  are  evil 
we  would  note,  first,  that  coming  into  China  with 
its  avowed  atheism,  it  aided  no  little  the  agnostic 
tendencies  of  Confucianism,  already  working  their 
deadening   charm   upon   the   Chinese. 

Secondly,  while  this  avowed  doctrine  was,  if 
known  at  all,  confined  to  few,  the  rank  polytheism 
exhibited  by  Buddhism  helped  materially  to  lower 
the  conceptions  of  Sang-Ti.  He  had  already  been 
removed  from  the  worship  of  the  people,  and  this 
superabundance  of  gods  did  no  little  to  lower  their 
theistic  ideals. 

Third.  Buddhism  by  its  very  eclecticism  has 
brought  about  an  indifference  in  religious  matters 
that  is  almost  appalling.  Its  pliability  in  incorpo- 
rating doctrines  and  deities  of  other  religions,  even 
when  more  or  less  contradicting  its  own,  after  a 
struggle  perhaps,  but  done  nevertheless,  and  its 
indifference  as  to  the  allegiance  of  its  votaries  to  one 
or  many  faiths,  have  bred  an  irreligiousness  among 
the  Chinese  which  has  been  greatly  increased  by 
the  absolute  lack  of  reverence  and  carelessness  ex- 
hibited by  the  manufacturers  and  purveyors  of  idols. 

213 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Fourth.  Had  Buddhism  come  to  China  in  its 
contemplative  form  and  confined  itself  to  up- 
holding the  absolute  and  laying  stress  upon  the 
spiritual,  its  effect  on  the  nation  would  have  been 
far  better,  but  bringing  in  its  polytheisms  in  their 
crudest  forms  and  at  the  same  time  imparting  its 
method  of  charming  by  the  recitation  of  verses,  etc., 
it  rather  aided  and  abetted  the  blind  superstitions 
and  rank  polytheism  of  Taoism. 

Fifth.  It  has  filled  the  country  with  costly  temples 
and  monasteries,  and  while,  by  so  doing,  it  has  given 
an  impetus  to  constructive  architecture  and  some 
of  the  arts,  it  has  in  its  monasteries  and  nunneries 
trained  up  a  host  of  people  to  idleness,  many  of 
them  in  ignorance,  most  of  whom  have  been,  and 
are  to  this  day,  a  discredit  to  their  country.  Here 
and  there  perhaps  may  be  found  abbots  and  monks 
who  are  striving  by  following  the  teachings  of  Bud- 
dhism to  help  the  Chinese,  but  as  a  rule  the  Buddhist 
monk  or  nun  is  despised  by  all,  and  many  of  them 
by  their  vices  and  general  immorality  are  bringing 
disgrace  upon  their  cult.  The  very  fact  that  such 
men  and  women  as  these  parade  themselves  before 
their  nation  as  exponents  of  religion  has  tended 
to  bring  all  religions  into  disgrace. 

We  come  next  to  the  consideration  of 


214 


BUDDHISM 

Buddhism  in  Korea 

No  sooner  had  China  accepted  Buddhism  and 
made  it  really  part  of  her  life  than  she  felt  it  in- 
cumbent to  offer  this  to  her  next  of  kin,  Korea. 
Fragments  of  Buddhistic  doctrine  and  some  of  her 
devotees  in  the  very  earliest  days  reached  "  the  land 
of  Morning  Calm,"  but  it  was  only  after  it  had 
taken  firm  root  in  China  that  we  find  it  building  its 
monasteries  and  temples  and  spreading  through  the 
whole  country.  The  earliest  official  records  of  this 
faith  speak  of  its  acceptance  in  the  kingdom  of 
Koguryu  by  a  monk  Sundo  in  the  year  372  a.d. 
Its  tenets  had  been  known  previous  to  this,  as  has 
been  suggested,  but  now  we  find  the  king  and  court 
eager  for  the  establishment  of  its  stately  ceremonials. 
This  example,  set  by  this  small  kingdom  of  the 
peninsula,  was  noted  by  her  neighbors,  and  soon  we 
find  Pakje  and  Silla  following  her  example,  and 
as  in  China,  so  here,  the  new  doctrine  met  with  a 
willing  reception  from  the  people,  but  with  varying 
favor  from  the  rulers  until  the  unification  of  the 
kingdom  under  Wangun. 

Previous  to  this  the  successes  of  Buddhism  and 
the  excesses  to  which  they  run  had  almost  brought 
about  the  downfall  of  this  religion,  but  it  established 
itself  firmly  in  the  hearts  of  the  rulers  on  Wangun's 


215 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

accession  to  the  throne,  and  with  but  little  diminu- 
tion of  power  remained  in  the  ascendant  until  the 
downfall  of  the  dynasty,  and  during  this  time  won 
a  place  in  the  affections  of  the  people  which  five 
hundred  years  of  nominal  proscription  has  failed 
to  overcome  entirely. 

The  conditions  in  Korea  differed  materially  from 
those  in  China,  The  people  had  not  been  barred 
from  the  worship  of  the  Heavens  as  the  supreme  god, 
their  nature-worship,  in  so  far  as  it  had  developed, 
had  not  yet  been  systematized,  and  Buddhism  there- 
fore, here  too  adapting  itself  to  the  conditions  exist- 
ing, allowed  the  worship  of  Hananim  as  supreme, 
received  into  her  pantheon  all  native  deities  that 
knocked  for  admission,  and  aimed  to  provide  what 
was  felt  to  be  lacking  for  the  spiritual  needs  of  the 
people. 

Of  course  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  priests, 
as  they  came  to  Korea,  brought  with  them  the 
higher  civilization  of  China,  and  they  became  the 
leaders  in  the  development  of  the  arts,  both  aesthetic 
and  practical. 

It  was  to  a  large  extent  the  esoteric  or  contempla- 
tive school  that  was  established  in  Korea,  though  we 
also  find  the  Tantra  section  of  the  exoteric  school 
with  their  recitative  charms  from  the  very  earliest 
date.  Since  the  advent  of  the  present  dynasty 
Buddhism  has  been  tabooed  and  its  monks  dis- 
216 


BUDDHISM 

franchised  and  forbidden  entrance  within  the  gates 
of  the  capital.  This  has,  however,  been  a  sort  of 
nominal  outlawry,  for  at  the  very  same  time  kings 
and  queens  have  been  striving  to  attain  merit  by 
building  temples  and  sustaining  monasteries. 

With  the  Buddhistic  theories  concerning  the  sacred- 
ness  of  life  it  seems  strange  to  find  soldier  monks 
common  here.  The  mountain  imperial  fortresses, 
in  which  in  ancient  times  the  monarchs  were  ac- 
customed to  take  refuge,  were  under  the  care  of 
these  martial  brotherhoods,  and  were  supposed,  with 
their  large  granaries,  to  be  always  victualled  for 
three  years,  and  these  monks  were  expected  to  be 
ready  at  a  moment's  notice  to  man  the  walls.  This 
is  simply  thrown  in  here  to  illustrate  the  remarkable 
adaptability  of  this  system. 

In  later  days,  however,  despite  the  royal  favor 
exhibited  in  munificent  gifts.  Buddhism  has  been 
growing  in  discredit,  its  monks  themselves  know 
little  of  its  doctrines,  and  to  no  small  extent  they 
have  degenerated  into  charm  venders  and  exorcisers 
who  will  at  times  openly  avow,  as  indeed  they  have 
done  to  the  speaker,  that  they  are  priests  not  be- 
cause they  care  for  the  doctrines  of  Buddha,  but 
simply  as  an  easy  means  to  a  livelihood. 

Despite  the  subsidies  received  by  royal  favor  from 
the  palace,  and  the  fact  that  not  a  few  of  the  monas- 
teries are  beautifully  located  in  the  midst  of  thick 
217 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

woods  or  on  commanding  heights,  many  of  them 
surrounded  and  supported  by  rich  estates,  Buddhism 
is  steadily  on  the  wane  and  has  comparatively  little 
influence  in  Korea. 

It  has  not  done  much  to  modify  the  native  idea 
of  God.  The  supremacy  of  Hananim  has  been  so 
rigidly  adhered  to  that  even  in  Buddhist  monasteries 
it  is  often  acknowledged  that  "Hananim  is  supreme, 
Buddha  is  one  of  the  lesser  divinities."  The  native 
gods  of  Korea's  Shinto  or  Shamanism  have  been 
admitted  to  the  Buddhist  pantheon,  and  in  fact 
we  might  almost  say  there  has  been  an  interchange, 
some  Buddhist  monks  avowing  that  their  Trinity  is 
in  reality  the  same  as  Korea's  "Sam  Shin."  It 
has,  then,  if  at  all,  simply  added  a  few  more  names 
to  their  long  roll  of  lesser  gods.  As  was  seen  in 
China,  so  here,  the  influence  of  Kwanyin  and  Ami- 
tabha  have  been  felt  in  that  it  has  opened  up  the 
idea  unknown  in  their  nature-worship,  of  the  gods 
exercising  pity  and  showing  mercy  towards  men, 
and  has  also  suggested  the  absolute  necessity  of 
trust  and  faith  if  any  real  good  is  to  be  obtained. 

Buddhism,  not  being  called  upon  to  meet  a  firmly 
established  native  worship,  and  in  fact  having 
aimed  in  Korea  solely  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of 
the  two  existing  religions,  the  extremes  to  which 
her  eclecticism  had  led  elsewhere,  had  not  been  so 
pronouncedly  manifest  here,  and  as  a  consequence 

218 


BUDDHISM 

there  is  perhaps  less  irreverence  and  the  religious 
instinct  is  more  easily  awakened  than  in  China. 

Buddhism  in  Japan 

From  China,  through  the  medium  of  Korea, 
Buddhism  entered  Japan.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  the  king  of  Pakje  or,  as  the  Japanese  say,  "Hi- 
aksai"  about  the  year  550  a.d.  sent  to  Japan  several 
golden  images  of  Buddha  and  Buddha's  Trinity,  as 
well  as  copies  of  the  books,  accompanied  by  priests, 
and  this  year  is  commonly  celebrated  as  that  of  the 
introduction  of  the  Indian  faith  into  the  Island  Em- 
pire. A  few  years  later  envoys  from  the  Korean  king- 
dom of  Silla  brought  additional  books  and  images 
prepared  to  establish  the  new  worship.  Coming 
thus  as  gifts  by  the  envoys  of  friendly  powers,  it 
became  a  question  for  the  imperial  court  to  decide 
as  to  what  should  be  done  with  these  foreign  gods. 
The  majority  of  the  councillors  believed  that  it  would 
be  an  insult  to  their  own  native  deities  to  introduce 
these  foreigners  and  voted  against  them,  but  in 
different  ways  the  power  of  the  new  deities  was  mani- 
fested, —  certain  disasters  coming  at  just  this  time 
were  ascribed  to  their  anger  at  the  insults  that 
had  been  heaped  upon  them,  —  and  temples  were 
built  for  the  reception  of  their  idols.  By  various 
expedients  the  people  were  stirred  up  to  destroy 
219 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

the  temples,  but  it  was  only  to  see  them  rebuilt, 
for  the  zeal  of  the  Korean  priests  could  not  be 
matched  nor  could  their  arguments  be  answered. 

Steadily  the  new  religion  spread,  more  temples 
and  monasteries  were  erected,  but  even  yet  peace 
was  not  established,  and  there  was  constant  strife 
between  the  adherents  of  the  old  and  the  new  gods. 
Gradually,  however,  the  persistent  efforts  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, coupled  with  their  skill  in  presenting  their 
cause  and  their  diplomacy  in  meeting  antagonists, 
gained  the  victory. 

Of  course  it  must  be  remembered  that  here,  to 
even  a  greater  extent  than  elsewhere,  the  propa- 
gandists of  Buddhism  were  pioneers  of  civilization. 
They  had  brought  with  them  Chinese  literature  and 
were  in  fact  at  this  time  the  teachers  also  of  Con- 
fucianism; for,  as  was  noted  in  a  previous  lecture, 
the  antagonism  later  developed  between  the  two 
was  unknown  then.  The  arts  also  received  an  im- 
pulse in  Japan,  if  indeed  they  were  not  born  there,  at 
this  same  time.* 

Complete  harmony  was  not,  however,  attained  until 

^  "In  710  A.D.  the  great  monastery  at  Nara  was  founded;  and 
here  v/e  must  notice  or  at  least  glance  at  the  great  throng  of  civiliz- 
ing influences  that  came  in  with  Buddhism,  and  at  the  great  army 
of  artists,  artisans,  and  skilled  men  and  women  of  every  sort 
of  trade  and  craft.  We  note  that  with  the  building  of  this  great 
Nara  monastery  came  another  proof  of  improvement  and  the  added 
element  of  stability  in  Japanese  civilization."  —  GriflSs,  "The 
Religions  of  Japan,"  p.  182. 

220 


BUDDHISM 

a  Buddhist  priest,  known  in  Japan  as  Kobo  Daishi, 
had  his  supposed  vision  at  the  temple  of  the  sun- 
goddess,  when,  as  we  saw  in  our  lecture  on  Shintoism, 
it  was  revealed  to  him  that  she  was  a  Bodhisattva, 
and  thus  she,  with  all  the  other  native  gods,  were 
transferred  into  Japanese  Buddhism.  The  change 
made  in  this  faith  was  very  marked,  and  the  result- 
ant was,  as  Griffis  says,  rather  a  mixed  Buddhism 
than  a  mixed  Shintoism, 

It  is  hardly  necessary  for  us  to  enter  into  the  con- 
sideration of  the  various  deities  that  now  throng 
Japan's  Buddhist  pantheon.  Our  discussion  of 
the  effect  in  China  and  Korea  helps  us  to  some 
extent  to  judge  what  it  was  here. 

The  various  sects  from  China  have  all  of  them  been 
represented  in  Japan,  although  it  is  often  claimed 
that  it  is  rather  esoteric  or  occult  Buddhism  that  is 
dominant  in  Japan  to-day.  Of  course  the  speculative 
nature  of  the  Japanese  mind  would  be  more  apt  to 
assimilate  the  metaphysics  of  Buddhism  and  to  ad- 
here most  strongly  to  its  transcendental  theories. 
It  was  the  northern  Buddhism  from  China  that  first 
came  to  Japan  through  Korea,  but  the  more  intel- 
lectual of  the  Japanese  have  been  found  more  com- 
monly leaning  toward  the  earlier  teachings  of  Bud- 
dhism as  given  by  Gautama,  and  even  these,  while 
they  may  perhaps  be  called  esoteric  and  tend  much 
more  nearly  in  doctrine  to  the  occultism  of  this 

221 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

school  in  real  practice,  comes  nearer  to  what  we 
have  denominated  "  mesoteric,"  combining  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  books  with  contemplation.  They 
are,  however,  very  largely  atheistic. 

The  common  people  have  been  much  more  will- 
ing to  take  in  their  entirety  the  doctrines  of  heaven 
and  hell,  together  with  the  Kwanyin  and  Amitabha 
of  China's  northern  Buddhism,  and  yet  the  spiritism 
of  their  Shinto  faith,  which,  as  we  saw  in  its  worship, 
has  no  idols,  has  saved  them  from  the  grosser  forms 
of  the  extreme  idolatry  of  China. 

Buddhist  temples  and  monasteries  have  been 
built  everywhere  and  still  flourish,  and  with  Shinto 
no  longer  called  a  religion,  we  may  almost  expect  a 
revival  of  Buddhism,  unless  something  is  given  to 
take  its  place.  A  revival  of  Buddhism  is,  in  fact, 
in  progress  now  in  that  land,  its  abetters  having 
adopted  not  a  few  of  the  methods  of  Christianity, 
having,  we  might  say,  their  young  people's  societies, 
Sunday  schools,  evangelistic  services,  tracts,  etc. 

Certainly  in  Japan,  more  than  in  China  or  Korea, 
Buddhism  shows  a  renewed  virility  that  is  remark- 
able. Here  at  the  present  time  we  find  every  type 
of  Buddhist  from  the  absolute  idealist  who  allows 
nothing  real  in  things  seen  and  all  reality  in  the 
unseen,  hoping  in  the  end  to  be  lost  in  the  unseen 
absolute,  to  the  sheer  materialist,  who,  not  satis- 
fied with  the  reality  of  all  he  sees,  has  descended 

222 


BUDDHISM 

to  the  grossest  sensualism  in  his  ideas  of  the  here- 
after. 

Among  the  strongest  sects  now  actively  engaged 
in  the  work  of  their  religions  among  these  islands 
is  that  known  as  the  sect  of  the  "Pure  Land,"  ^ 
which  rests  more  largely  in  Amitabha  than  in  Buddha. 
This,  as  in  China,  is  a  sect  that  believes  in  absolute 
faith  and  proclaims  salvation  by  faith  alone,  stating 
definitely  that  it  is  not  of  works.  Its  members 
avow  that  while  their  sect  aims  to  reach  the  same 
end,  the  others  strive  after  the  way,  theirs  is  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Pure  Land,  the  others  of  the  Pure  Path, 
and  that  theirs  by  a  peculiarly  easy  way  reaches  the 
same  end,  —  eternal  happiness.  By  them  Gautama 
has  been  displaced  and  Amida  is  the  chief.  He 
is  their  god  and  one  might  almost  say  their  one 
god.  Nirvana  is  no  longer  sought.  Eternal  para- 
dise is  their  aim.  With  them  we  find  that  the  truth 
has  not  so  much  to  do  with  our  life  here  as  with 
our  faith  in  Amida.  This,  of  course,  was  opposed 
by  many,  and  some  claim  that  it  is  not  Buddhism,  but 
it  is  taught  under  his  name,  and  its  adherents  are 
for  the  most  part  from  the  lowly  and  ignorant. 

Still  another  sect  has  set  up  the  "true  Buddha," 
as  the  term  goes,  and  him  they  claim  as  the  "  Father  of 
the  World,"  the  "self-born  One,  the  Chief  and 
Saviour  of  all,  eternal,  almighty,  all-wise."     They 

*  See  Appendix  to  Lecture  V,  No.  2. 
223 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

have  personified  Dharma,  the  law  of  Buddha,  and 
made  him  chief,  and  here  we  have  him  plainly  de- 
clared as  the  Creator. 

Thus  do  we  find  Buddhism  a  contradiction  to  itself. 

Atheistic  and  yet  theistic  —  idealistic  and  realistic 
—  agnostic  and  gnostic ;  purely  metaphysical,  emi- 
nently practical;  yet  in  it  all  attempting  to  accom- 
plish what  Gautama  strove  after,  —  to  answer  the 
requirements  of  man's  inner  nature  and  solve  the 
enigma  of  life,  present,  past,  and  future. 

What  has  Buddhism  done  for  Japan  ?  ^  Its  effects 
here  also  have  been  opposite  and  contradictory.  Its 
original  theories  have  aided  and  abetted  the  sceptical 
tendencies  already  noted.  Its  extreme  eclecticism, 
explained  by  some  as  simply  a  means  to  an  end  and 
allowable,  —  the  ultimate  aim  justifying  the  lie,  — 
has  in  part  brought  discredit  upon  all  religious 
teachers,  tending  to  spread  the  idea  that  none  of 
them  believe  what  they  say,  but  have  some  ulterior 
motives  in  their  preaching.  The  practical  Bud- 
dhists, finding  that  the  theoretical  teachings  of  Gau- 
tama did  not  answer  the  needs  of  Japan,  claim 
to  have  deduced  from  his  teachings  their  present 
pantheon,  finding  it  impossible  to  make  the  people 
as  such  atheistic. 

*  "  Buddhism  has  been  called  the  light  of  Asia,  and  Gautama 
its  illuminator;  but  certainly  the  light  has  not  been  pure,  nor 
the  products  of  its  illumination  wholesome."  —  Griffis,  "Religions 
of  Japan,"  p.  173. 

224 


BUDDHISM 

The  fact  that  they  declared  salvation  through 
faith  has  indeed  taught  an  antinomianism  that  is 
hard  to  overcome,  and  yet  the  absolute  insistence  on 
the  need  of  salvation  and  the  inability  to  obtain  it 
through  works  has  upheld  the  law,  and  aided  in 
giving  the  idea  of  man's  helplessness  if  left  to  him- 
self. 

Thus,  as  was  remarked  above,  the  very  diver- 
gencies of  sects  and  contradictions  in  teachings  have 
proven  the  insufficiencies  of  the  doctrines  of  Gau- 
tama. It  seems  that  no  more  powerful  and  adverse 
comment  on  the  fatal  weakness  of  Gautama's 
doctrines  as  a  practical  system  of  philosophy  and 
code  of  ethics  could  be  offered  than  the  changes  in 
them,  both  as  to  doctrine  and  practice,  which  took 
place  almost  before  he  was  cold  in  his  grave.  He 
who  had  taught  the  non-existence  of  god  was  wor- 
shipped as  a  god,  an  ever  multiplying  pantheon  was 
established  in  the  face  of  teachings  the  most  trans- 
cendental; dogmas  the  most  flatly  contradictory  of 
all  he  had  labored  to  disseminate  were  taught 
and  followed  everywhere  by  his  so-called  disciples. 
True,  Christianity,  too,  has  been  subject  to  many 
misinterpretations  and  misrepresentations,  many 
varying  doctrines  have  been  taught  by  multitudinous 
sects,  for  man  is,  alas,  only  too  prone  to  error  and  to 
distort  truth  itself.  But  from  the  first,  whatever 
the  errors,  each  has  had  as  a  rule  but  a  short  day, 
Q  225 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

and  with  the  Bible  ever  the  same  the  great  body 
of  the  church  has  clung,  with  some  few  trifling 
differences,  to  the  vital  truths  of  Christianity,  taught 
by  their  Leader,  the  nature  of  God,  the  Trinity, 
salvation  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  necessity  of  personal  righteous- 
ness, the  life  eternal.  But  Buddhism,  while 
growing  in  the  number  of  its  votaries,  has  constantly 
been  adding  an  incongruous  and  miscellaneous  body 
oi  dogmas  and  deities,  until  it  would  be  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  define  what  it  does  or  does  not 
teach,  or  where  its  limits  are  to  be  marked.  Yet 
we  must  not  forget  that  it  contained  many  ele- 
ments of  truth  and  was  adapted  to  suit  certain  needs 
of  human  nature,  especially  of  Asiatic  humanity, 
with  its  passionate  capability  of  sacrifice  and  self- 
devotion  and  its  love  of  the  transcendental,  while 
at  the  same  time  the  trumpet  call  to  righteousness 
and  purity  of  life  and  purpose  touched  a  responsive 
chord  in  the  hearts  of  a  people  wearied  with  the  sen- 
sualities and  crimes  of  their  cruel  and  unholy  gods. 
Too  true,  alas,  it  was  that  the  object  of  this  right- 
eousness was  merely  personal  release  from  trouble, 
its  energizing  force  only  love  of  self,  so  that  it  has 
never  yet  brought  real  peace  to  a  troubled  con- 
science, or  wrought  anything  but  havoc  and  deeper 
degradation  among  the  nations  over  which  it  has  held 
sway. 

226 


BUDDHISM 

We  have,  then,  to-day  arrived  at  the  close  of  our 
discussion  of  the  five  rehgions  of  northeastern  Asia, 
and  in  them  all  we  have  seen  elements  of  truth. 
Are  they  not  "broken  lights"  of  Plim  who  is  the 
light  of  the  world;  yet  each  insufficient  without  a 
fuller  revelation  has  left  men  unsatisfied  and  unsaved, 
and 

"Falling  with  their  weight  of  cares 
Upon  the  world's  great  altar  stairs 
That  lead  through  darkness  up  to  God, 
They  reach  lame  hands  of  faith  and  grope, 
And  gather  dust  and  chaff,  and  call 
To  one  they  trust  is  Lord  of  all, 
And  faintly  trust  a  larger  hope." 

APPENDICES  TO  LECTURE  V 

Appendix  No.  i,  P.  205 

Beal  in  his  "Buddhism  m  China"  says  (p.  179):  — 

"Thus  he  attained  true  sight,  erroneous  views  for- 
ever dissipated,  even  as  the  furious  winds  of  autumn 
sway  to  and  fro  and  scatter  all  the  clouds  of  autumn. 
He  argued  not  that  Isvara  was  cause,  nor  did  he  ad- 
vocate some  cause  heretical,  nor  yet  again  did  he 
affirm  there  was  no  cause  for  the  beginning  of  the  world. 
If  the  world  was  made  by  Isvara,  there  would  be  neither 
young  nor  old,  first  nor  after,  nor  the  five  ways  of  trans- 
migration, and  once  born,  there  should  be  no  destruc- 
tion. Nor  should  there  be  such  thing  as  sorrow  or  ca- 
lamity; nor  doing  wrong,  nor  doing  right;  for  all,  both 
pure  and  impure  deeds,  must  come  from  Isvara.  Again, 
227 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

if  Isvara  made  the  world,  there  should  be  never  doubt 
about  the  fact,  even  as  a  son  born  of  his  father  ever 
confesses  him  and  pays  him  reverence.  If  Isvara  be 
creator,  men,  when  pressed  by  sore  calamity,  ought 
not  to  rebel  against  him,  but  rather  reverence  him 
completely  as  the  self-existent.  Nor  ought  they  to 
adore  more  gods  than  one.  Again,  if  Isvara  be  the 
maker,  he  should  not  be  called  'existing  by  himself.' 
Because  he  always  has  been  making  (others  beyond 
himself).  But  if  he  has  always  'made,'  then  he  is 
always  proposing  to  make,  and  is  not,  therefore,  in 
himself  sufiicient.  But  if  he  makes  without  a  purpose, 
then  he  is  like  the  sucking  child;  or  if  with  a  purpose, 
then  he  is  not  yet  complete.  Sorrow  and  joy  spring 
up  in  all  that  lives;  these,  at  least,  are  not  like  the 
works  of  Isvara;  for  if  he  causes  grief  and  joy,  he 
must  himself  have  love  and  hate;  but  if  he  loves  and 
hates,  he  is  not  rightly  called  self-existent.  Again, 
if  Isvara  be  maker,  all  living  things  should  silently 
submit,  patient  beneath  the  maker's  power,  and  then 
what  use  to  practise  virtue?  'Twere  equal,  then, 
the  doing  right  or  doing  wrong.  There  should  be  no 
reward  of  works;  the  works  themselves  being  his, 
then  all  things  are  the  same  to  him,  the  maker;  but 
if  things  are  one  with  him,  then  our  deeds  and  we  who 
do  them  are  also  self-existent;  but  Isvara  (by  hypoth- 
esis) is  uncreated,  therefore  all  things,  being  one  with 
him,  are  uncreated.  But  if  you  say  there  is  another 
cause  besides  this  Isvara,  then  he  is  not  'the  end  of 
air  (the  sun  of  all),  and  therefore  all  that  lives  may 
after  all  be  uncreated  (without  a  maker)  —  and  so  you 
see  the  thought  of  Isvara  is  overthrown." 

228 


BUDDHISM 

Appendix  No.  2,  P.  223 

This  sect  thus  accounts  for  its  divergence  from 
others: — 

"There  are  various  ways  of  attaining  salvation  — 
that  is,  of  the  passing  over  of  the  sea  of  existence  to 
peace  and  safety  beyond.  The  chief  of  these  are  four; 
namely,  the  methods  of  the  'lengthwise  passing  out' 
and  'crosswise  passing  over,'  and  'sidewise  passing 
out'  and  'sidewise  crossing  over,'  and  these,  'passing 
out'  and  'passing  over,'  'lengthwise'  and  'sidewise,' 
have  to  do  with  the  difficulty  and  ease  of  attainment. 
Now  our  sect  teaches  the  way  of  the  '  sidewise  crossing 
over.'  The  contrast  between  the  two  may  be  set  forth 
by  an  illustration:  the  ways  of  the  'lengthwise  and 
sidewise  passing  out'  belong  to  the  sects  of  the  Pure 
Path.  Those  who  follow  it  are  Uke  travellers  far  from 
home,  whose  path  lies  across  mountains  and  plains  and 
rivers  —  difficulty,  long  and  full  of  dangers,  •  so  that 
only  the  favored  shall  succeed,  while  our  denomination 
is  of  the  Pure  Land,  and  its  methods,  like  that  of  the 
traveller  who  finds  a  well-equipped  boat  carrying  him 
to  his  destination,  with  favorable  sea  and  wind,  so 
that  in  peace  and  without  labor  he  reaches  his  desired 
haven.  And  we  differ  from  the  other  sects  of  the  Pure 
Land  in  this,  that  we  offer  an  immediate  salvation, 
not  after  death  but  now,  for  he  who  puts  his  faith  in 
Amida  with  unfaltering  heart  shall  at  once  enter  into 
peace  and  find  salvation." 

Speaking  of  the  lack  of  the  practice  of  virtues  and 
consequent  need  of  faith,  it  continues:  — 

229 


r 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

"We  are  truly  like  this:  unenlightened,  we  are  sub- 
ject to  the  evil  of  Birth  and  Death;  for  long  kalpas  we 
resolve,  floating  and  sinking;  there  seems  no  means  of 
escape.  But  He,  Amida  Buddha,  long  kalpas  ago,  put- 
ting forth  a  heart  of  great  compassion,  planning  through 
five  kalpas,  having  accomplished  the  long  kalpas,  per- 
fected his  vow.  He  said,  '  If  any  living  beings  of  the 
ten  regions  who  with  sincerity,  having  faith  and  joy 
and  ardent  desire  to  be  born  into  my  country,  call  my 
name  to  remembrance  ten  times,  should  not  be  born 
there,  I  shall  not  accept  Enlightenment.'  'If  there 
are  any  living  beings  of  the  ten  regions  —  be  they 
householders  or  homeless,  breakers  of  the  Prohibitions, 
or  without  the  Prohibitions,  having  wives  or  not  having 
wives,  having  children  or  not  having  children,  whether 
or  not  drinking  wine  or  eating  flesh,  whether  they  be 
husbandmen  or  merchants,  if  only  they  put  forth  the 
believing  heart  and  take  refuge  in  the  vow  of  Amida 
Buddha,  they  will  throw  out  the  radiance  of  Bud- 
dha.' " — Knox,  "Development  of  Religion  in  Japan," 
pp.  125-127. 


230 


LECTURE   VI 

A  Comparison  of  the  Foregoing  Theisms  with 

THAT   OF   THE    OlD   AND   NeW   TESTAMENTS 

Having  now,  by  an  investigation  of  the  religions 
of  the  Far  East,  prepared  the  way  for  our  final  lecture, 
let  us  turn  to  that  for  which  all  the  preceding  have 
in  reality  been  the  basis;  namely,  a  comparison  of 
their  theisms  with  that  of  the  Bible. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  religions  discussed,  we  simply 
attempted  to  find  out  what  were  their  ideas  concern- 
ing their  deity  or  deities,  so  in  the  present  lecture, 
it  is  not  our  place  to  consider  the  arguments  that 
uphold  the  theism  of  Christianity,  but  rather  to 
ascertain  what  are  its  postulates,  and  see  how  far  they 
agree  with,  surpass,  or  fall  short  of  those  of  the 
theisms  of  Asia. 

When  it  comes  to  the  development  of  the  reli- 
gions of  the  world,  there  are  those  who,  seeing  signs 
of  an  evolution  in  nature,  and  tracing  also  a  sort  of 
evolution  in  revelation,  or  at  least  in  man's  under- 
standing  of  revelation,  think  it  necessarily  follows 
by  the  same  rule  that  there  has  been  a  similar  evolu- 
tion in  the  development  of  all  religions,  and  starting 

231 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

out  with  this  preconceived  conviction,  they  attempt 
either  to  prove  ancestor  worship  the  basis  of  all 
religion,  or  perhaps  what  they  deem  to  be  primitive 
man's  superstitious  faith  in  fetiches  and  charms, 
leading  up  to  higher  forms;  or,  man's  recognition 
of  the  superhuman  in  nature,  and  taking  each  and 
all  of  these,  they  try  to  show  a  steady  upward  ten- 
dency, which  would  finally  result  in  the  highest 
form  of  theism. 

The  great  difficulty  in  proving  any  such  hypothesis 
is  that  of  ascertaining  the  real  religious  ideas  of 
primitive  men ;  and  while  for  this  purpose  they  may 
go  to  the  wilds  of  Africa,  and,  studying  the  habits 
of  those  whom  they  call  primitive  savages,  deduce 
an  argument  therefrom,  the  question,  of  course,  still 
remains  as  to  whether  these  people  are  in  truth 
what  we  call  primitive,  or  whether  they  are  not  a 
degeneration  from  some  higher  type,  and  whether, 
even  though  primitive,  they  really  resemble  all  races 
and  tribes  of  primitive  men. 

When  it  comes  to  the  historical  arguments  on 
which  these  writers  attempt  to  base  their  theory, 
we  find  they  are  drawn  from  the  records  of  nations 
concerning  whose  earliest  history  we  are  unable  to 
secure  any  reliable  data. 

The  evolution  theory  in  regard  to  (theism)  re^ 
ligion,  as  commonly  stated,  has  not  been  proven; 
and,  in  fact,  its  most  ardent  advocates  have  never 
232 


A    COMPARISON 

been  able  to  show  us  in  history  a  single  people  or 
nation  who,  starting  out  with  ancestor  worship, 
fetiches,  or  nature-worship,  have  evolved,  without 
the  aid  of  a  revelation,  from  their  polytheism  what 
they  themselves  acknowledge  to  be  the  highest 
theistic  ideal,  a  monotheism. 

As  in  the  evolution  theory  of  creation  we  are  com- 
pelled to  get  back  to  a  point  where  an  intelligent 
power  or  personality  began,  so,  too,  I  think  it  can  be 
proved  that  there  can  only  exist  evolution  in  religion 
up  to  the  highest  form  of  theism,  where  there  has 
been  a  God  speaking  to  man  and  giving  a  direct 
revelation  of  Himself  as  a  basis  from  which  to  begin 
and  a  guide  to  direct  such  development. 

When  it  comes  to  the  history  of  the  earliest  peoples, 
especially  where  we  are  able  to  gain  a  glimpse  far 
back  in  the  morning  twilight  of  the  earliest  begin- 
nings, the  facts  we  are  able  to  ascertain,  strengthened 
by  the  sidelights  and  hints  which  come  from  every 
source,  show  most  conclusively  that  the  most  ancient 
peoples  have  had  the  purer  and  higher  ideals  of  God. 

Material  civilization,  as  the  world  understands  it, 
has  not  been  accompanied  correspondingly  by  the 
highest  theistic  conceptions  or  ethical  ideals;  in 
fact,  I  think  history  proves  that  except  where  there 
has  been  a  revelation  to  check  it,  the  so-called  evolu- 
tion has  been  downward. 

For  my  part,  I  prefer  to  recall  with  Moses  the 

'233 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

mfancy  of  the  race,  as  ignorant,  untrained,  unsophisti- 
cated, if  you  will,  but  not  degraded  or  beastly,  walk- 
ing  with  God  in  the  garden  in  the  c^ol  of  the  evening, 
than  as  gibbering  and_trembling  with  its  brother 
apes,  in  fear  of  the  thundery  and  the  dark._^ 

We  are  told  of  an  evolution  of  religion  from  the 
lowest  and  most  puerile  superstitions  of  primitive 
man,  to  higher  and  higher  ideals  of  God,  more  and 
more  noble  and  spiritual  forms  of  worship  among 
all  nations,  but  the  fact  is,  so  far  as  any  reliable  data 
are  concerned,  that  the  constant  tendency  is  down- 
ward rather  than  upward,  and  the  only  partial  and 
occasional  uplifts  have  come  in  the  appearance  at 
long  intervals  of  great  men,  prophets,  sages,  and 
apostles,  who  have  thrown  their  little  candle's  beam 
along  the  darkness  of  the  ages  in  a  "naughty  world." 

The  earliest  worship  of  which  we  can  find  a  secular 
jrecord  in  the  oldest  countries  was  by  every  indica- 
tion a  monotheism,  wKere  with  simplicity  man 
.worshipped  his  Creator  only.  Fallmg  away~?fora 
this  came  the  deification  of  kings  as  the  descendants 
or  agents  of  this  God;  then  came  heroes,  ancestors 
in  general,  powers  of  nature,  resulting  in  pantheism, 
polytheism,  fetichism;  with  an  endless  train  of 
degrading  superstitions,  darkened  by  a  thickening 
cloud  (as  of  foul  incense)  of  foolish  myths  and  legends, 
and  ministered  by  an  unholy  horde  of  mendicant 
priests,  monks,  and  sorcerers,  who  wielded  a  grinding 
234 


A    COMPARISON 

tyranny  over  the  poor  slaves  of  the  cuhs  they  served. 
Our  own  recent  studies  have  shown  us  how,  written 
in  stone  on  the  cliffs  of  Korea,  in  the  history  of  China, 
in  the  wonderful  correspondence  of  the  ancient  state 
records  of  the  two  countries,  and  in  the  very  forma- 
tion of  the  characters  of  their  hoary  language,  we 
find  the  footprints  of  the  Creator,  known  if,  per- 
chance, but  dimly,  still  worshipped  in  simplicity 
and  truth;  as  far  above  the  poor  creatures  of  the 
base  imagination  of  later  ages,  as  are  the  eternal 
heavens  in  their  silence,  purity,  and  austerity  above 
the  dust-heaps  of  earth. 

A  slight  temporary  uplift  came  in  the  teachings 
of  Confucius  and  Buddha,  tiie  oja£^etting  forth  a 
just  law,  the  other  the  morzm^zn^tT^i  the  flesh, 
but  these  very  systems  themselves  became,  as  we 
have  seen,  only  too  speedily  degraded  and  the  centres 
of  still  more  burdensome  and  demoralizing  forms  of 
polytheism.  The  Jews  themselves,  whatever  may 
have  been  their  primitive  beliefs,  are  admitted  by  all 
to  have  possessed  at  a  very  early  date  the  purest  and 
loftiest  monotheism,  yet  even  they  with  the  reproofs 
of  Jehovah  in  terrible  judgments,  the  warnings  of 
the  prophets,  and  the  thunders  of  Sinai  sounding 
in  their  ears,  pursued  a  steadily  downward  course. 

It  is,  as  we  said,  hardly  a  fact  that  high  civilization 
brings  high  religious  concepts,  for  we  have  the  de- 
grading and  childish  beliefs  of  the  Egyptians,  Greeks, 

235 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

and  Romans  to  give  this  the  He.  Thetis  chooses  a 
moment  when  Juno  is  out  of  sight  to  sit  on  the  knee 
of  Jupiter  and,  as  a  schoolboy  puts  it,  "  chucking 
him  under  the  chin,"  coaxes  a  favor  for  her  base- 
born  son.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  rapid 
deterioration  in  the  faith  and  worship  of  the  Chinese 
and  Koreans;  while,  as  has  been  seen,  the  earliest 
known  records  of  the  Japanese  are  so  very  recent 
that  what  is  true  of  their  neighbors  is  very  probably 
true  here,  also. 

Even  among  the  followers  of  Christianity  itself 
we  find  the  same  constant  downward  trend.^  It 
would  seem  that  the  ancient  book,  which  says  that 
all  the  imaginations  of  men's  hearts  are  vile  and 
wicked  altogether,  was  not  far  wrong.  There  have 
been  repeated  back-slidings,  and  more  than  one  sect, 
sometimes  whole  nations,  have  sunk  into  supersti- 
tions and  forms  of  idolatry,  almost,  if  not  quite,  as 
degrading  as  those  of  China  and  ancient  Greece,  with 
their  images,  pictures,  relics,  indulgences,  myths, 
and  legends;  and  sooner  or  later  the  world  will 
learn  that  religion  is  not  a  creature  of  civilization, 
nor  of  evolution  worked  out  by  a  gradually  developing 
animal,  hut  a  matter  of  inspiration,  "that  not  of  your- 
selves, it  is  the  gift  of  God." 

But  to  whatever  conclusion  we  may  arrive  on  this 
point,  it  will  hardly  be  questioned  that  the  theism  of 

*  Compare  Dr.  Sihler's  recent  "Testimonium  Animae." 
236 


A    COMPARISON 

Christianity,  as  it  is  held  to-day,  stands  in  a  marked 
contrast  to  that  of  the  most  civih'zed  nations  of  the 
world  before,  during,  and  after  the  Christian  era, 
and  of  those  of  Asia  to-day ;  and  it  is  our  business  in 
this  lecture  to  point  out  these  diflferences,  to  show 
the  respects  in  which  one  lacks  or  offends,  and  on 
the  other  hand  those  in  which  another  proves  its 
divine  birth  and  its  right  to  our  allegiance. 

We  saw  that  each  of  the  nations  under  consid- 
eration had  three  religions,  and  w^ould  acknowledge 
themselves  adherents  and  followers  of  all  three,  and 
yet  that  the  distinctive  peculiarities  of  each  nation 
had  developed  differences  both  in  the  varying  forms 
of  their  own  ethnic  religions,  as  well  as  in  their  man- 
ner of  reception  of  those  from  outside. 

We  have  already  in  our  discussion  of  these  faiths 
attempted  to  show  their  theisms.  It  remains  for 
us  now,  if  possible,  to  draw  for  each  nation  a  com- 
posite picture  of  the  national  concept  of  God,  the 
resultant  of  this  almost  unique  adherence  with  equal 
loyalty  to  their  antagonistic  and,  in  many  respects, 
opposite  religions. 

Turning  to  China,  what  do  we  j&nd  ?  The  Taoism 
of  to-day  we  found  a  conglomeration  of  myths  and 
superstitions,  and  while  it  does  in  part  meet  the 
needs  of  men  in  its  suggestion  of  higher  powers  to 
be  appealed  to,  it  really  has  no  theology,  almost  no 
mythology,  no  ethics,  and  is  in  no  way  elevating. 

237 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Confucianism  attempted  to  supply  the  lack  in 
ethics,  is  absolutely  lacking  in  theology,  and  has  been 
termed  merely  anthropology,  and,  dealing  simply 
with  the  present,  has  no  eschatology.  These  are  only 
a  few  of  its  deficiencies.  It  certainly  does  acknowl- 
edge the  solidarity  of  the  Asiatic  race,  but  here  it 
falls  short  and  fails  to  grasp  the  brotherhood  of  man. 

Buddhism  supplies  many  of  the  omissions  of  these 
two,  certainly  has  in  its  later  development  at  least 
a  full  theology  with  every  department  from  apolo- 
getics to  eschatology,  but  in  its  attempts  to  provide 
a  motive  for  right  living  in  the  rewards  and  punish- 
ments of  the  hereafter  it  modifies  the  real  effect  of 
these  in  the  antinomian  doctrine  of  Amitabha. 

What,  then,  has  been  the  effect  of  all  this  in  China  ? 
While  there  is  throughout  the  country  a  certain 
amount  of  carelessness,  of  laissez  faire,  in  regard  to 
religion,  and  although  the  agnosticism  of  Confucius 
has  tended  to  make  men  feel  that  what  is  so  unknow- 
able is  not  perhaps  of  much  concern  to  them  individ- 
ually, and  though,  as  we  saw,  the  eclectic  tendencies 
of  Buddhism  have  helped  to  create  the  idea  that  it 
matters  little  which  of  the  gods  man  serves,  the  China- 
man as  such  has  a  very  strong  belief  in  the  existence 
of  these  supernatural  powers,  and  the  advisability  of 
so  winning  favor  that  at  least  some  of  them  will  be 
on  his  side.  If  he  leaves  his  native  land  to  visit 
other  polytheistic  nations,  he  takes  his  "joss"  with 
238 


A    COMPARISON 

him,  but  pays  due  worship  to  the  local  gods  as  well. 
If  he  cannot  afford  to  put  up  a  special  "joss"  house 
or  temple,  certainly  somewhere  within  his  house  he 
will  have  his  joss-shelf  or  altar  before  which  he  burns 
incense  and  offers  prayers.  On  reaching  a  mono- 
theistic land,  however,  the  exclusiveness  of  mono- 
theism leads  him  naturally  to  confine  his  worship 
to  his  own  gods.  If,  as  in  many  cases,  he  has  not 
brought  his  gods  with  him,  he  will  presently  manu- 
facture one,  and  install  it  in  the  place  of  honor.  The 
educated  Chinaman  will  be  a  Confucianist  and  will, 
in  all  probability,  avow  that  he  has  left  all  such  things 
to  women  and  children,  and  yet  at  the  same  time,  in 
practice,  he  will  acknowledge  that  these  gods  exist 
and  believe  that  they  continue,  though  simply  for 
their  own  delectation,  and  that  he  must  tread  softly 
and  pay  due  sacrifice  if  he  expects  to  escape  their 
ire. 

But  as  we  saw,  the  corner-stone  of  the  amalgama- 
tion of  all  three  of  these  systems  in  China  is  ancestor 
worship.  To  sum  up,  then,  he  believes  that  there  are 
gods,  that  they  have  sufficient  power  to  affect  ma- 
terially his  life  and  happiness,  and  that  there  is  one 
supreme  god. 

The  ancient  religions  of  China  postulated  the 
existence  of  a  supreme  eternal  Creator  spirit,  dwell- 
ing remote  from  men  so  far  that  their  childish  hands 
could  not  grasp  him,  but  they  fell  into  the  power  of  a 
239 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

multitude  of  lower  gods,  demons,  and  spirits.  They 
were  partially  uplifted  for  a  time  by  the  call  of  Con- 
fucius to  reason  and  a  superior  life,  and  later  of 
Buddha  to  the  contemplation  of  the  abstract  and  the 
mortification  of  the  flesh,  only  to  fall  again  into  still 
grosser  forms  of  polytheism  and  a  darkness  that 
might  be  felt,  where  the  last  ray  of  primitive  faith 
seems  forever  quenched. 

Turning  to  Japan,  the  changed  conditions  together 
with  the  different  stage  in  the  development  of  each 
religion  at  the  time  of  their  meeting,  combined  with 
their  peculiar  national  characteristics,  have  produced 
correspondingly  variant  results.  The  Japanese  were 
"the  offspring  of  the  sun-goddess,"  and  she,  of 
course,  was  anxious  for  the  welfare  of  her  sons.  In 
this  fundamental  of  their  theism  we  find  an  idea 
almost  unknown  in  China's  theology,  —  solicitude 
on  the  part  of  the  deity  for  man's  welfare.  Their 
theological  system  was,  however,  built  up  with  a 
purpose  in  view,  and  their  whole  mythology,  planned 
to  glorify  their  monarchs,  was  colored  by  the  narra- 
tors who  mirrored  their  natures  in  these  stories  of 
the  gods. 

Buddhism  and  Confucianism,  entering  hand  in 
hand,  as  we  saw,  accepted  existing  conditions,  ex- 
cept that  while  original  Shinto  seems  to  have  been 
nature-worship.  Buddhism  came  to  them  as  the  wor- 
ship of  the  supernatural.  The  religious  loyalty  of 
240 


A    COMPARISON 

Japan,  intensified  by  the  myth  and  ritual  of  Shinto, 
was  accentuated  by  its  admission  into  Buddhism, 
and  still  further  emphasized  by  the  change  in  Japan's 
Confucianism,  when  loyalty  took  the  place  of  filial 
piety  as  its  keystone. 

Of  course,  much  of  the  later  development  and  the 
introduction  of  modern  sciences,  together  with  the 
elaboration  of  the  various  philosophical  sects  of 
Buddhism  have  tended  toward  atheism;  and  while 
the  educated  non-Christian  Japanese  will,  in  almost 
every  case,  tell  you  that  these  stories  are  only  fables 
and  myths,  yet  even  he  finds  it  almost  impossible 
in  practice  really  to  get  away  from  theism.  As  he 
has  been  studying  universal  man  and  this  world  in 
which  he  lives,  the  tendency  has  been  toward  mon- 
ism, if  not,  indeed,  toward  monotheism. 

Their  patriotism  has,  as  we  saw,  developed  almost 
to  the  point  where  the  spirit  of  loyalty  is  worshipped, 
and  while  there  is  no  exact  personality  given  this 
idea,  there  are  not  wanting  those  among  the  more 
ignorant  who  may  be  said  to  personify  this  quality; 
so  that  to-day  the  Japanese,  whether  pantheistic  or 
polytheistic,  is  at  least  theistic,  acknowledges  some 
god  or  gods,  and  in  the  main  believes  that  the  high- 
est possible  end  is  attained  when  blood  is  shed  and 
life  sacrificed  for  one's  country. 

In  Japan  history,  beginning  all  too  late,  shows  us 
conditions  so  similar  to  those  in  China  at  the  same 
R  241 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

period  that  it  seems  possible,  if  not  more  than  prob- 
able, that  what  we  find  is  simply  a  similar  stage  of 
decadence  from  an  earlier  purer  theism,  and  we 
have  to-day  the  phenomenon  of  a  nation  springing 
with  wonderful  rapidity  into  almost  full-grown  civil- 
ization in  government,  arts,  sciences,  professions, 
manufactures,  naval  and  military  power,  which  is 
now  having  a  revival  of  Buddhism  even  in  its  cruder 
aspect,  its  temples  crowded,  its  idols  receiving  the 
worship  of  thousands  of  devotees.  Certainly  Japan 
has  not  yet  developed  —  mark  the  verb  —  a  corre- 
spondingly high  theism  along  with  her  new  civiliza- 
tion. 

Turning  now  to  Korea,  we  find  that  even  up  to 
to-day  she  has  been  able  to  retain  somewhat  more  of 
her  ancient  simplicity  of  belief.  Shut  in  from  the 
outside  world  as  she  has  been  during  all  these  cen- 
turies, she  has  found  satisfaction  largely  within  her- 
self, and  has  kept  some  of  her  primitive  faith  in  the 
midst  of  invading  polytheisms. 

Accepting  Confucianism,  she  has  adopted  its 
ancestral  worship  and  its  code  of  ethics,  and  while 
acknowledging  that  "Tien  Cha,"  "the  son  of 
Heaven,"  her  emperor,  was  peculiarly  fitted  to  offer 
worship  to  the  Heavens,  she  rejected  the  dogma 
that  this  was  exclusively  his  prerogative,  and  jeal- 
ously guarding  her  right  to  approach  the  Supreme, 
she  has,  as  we  saw,  been  saved  from  descending  to 
242 


A    COMPARISON 

the  depths  of  grossest  materialism  and  sensuality 
witnessed  at  times  among  her  neighbors. 

She  accepted  Buddhism,  but  simply  as  another 
religion,  thus  adding  its  deities  to  her  pantheon.  She 
is  to-day  polytheistic,  and  the  average  Korean,  edu- 
cated or  otherwise,  is  a  theist,  acknowledges  the 
existence  of  gods,  but  holds  the  Heavens  chief,  far 
beyond  and  above,  ruling  and  controlling  all.  While 
her  most  ancient  history  proclaims  this  god  as  Crea- 
tor, she  has  to-day  lost  sight  of  this  doctrine,  and  ac- 
cepting a  cosmogony  whereby  all  things  are  derived 
from  two  principles,  does  not  even  ask  herself  whence 
this  power  came. 

The  extreme  care  deemed  necessary  in  approach- 
ing the  Heavens  and  the  efforts  made  toward  puri- 
fication show  that  they  have  a  conception  of  this 
God  as  holy.  But  this  idea  is  dim  and  limited, 
and  there  is  discerned  here  the  freedom  with  which 
they,  like  all  others  untaught  by  revelation,  and 
even  with  which  those  so  taught  unless  specially 
guided,  decline  from  the  higher  faiths,  and  run  after 
other  gods.  Nevertheless,  through  all  their  poly- 
theistic tendencies  they  have  held  stoutly  to  their 
"Hananim." 

We  find,  then,  that  the  three  native  religions,  as 
developed  in  each  individual  land,  are  not  answering 
all  the  needs  of  the  people,  and  every  one  of  them  is 
showing  a  decided  tendency  to  deteriorate,  though  at 

243 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

times  there  have  been  those  who  have  protested  and 
done  their  best  to  stop  the  downward  trend. 

We  find  that  in  their  highest  and  loftiest  ideals  as 
first  given  by  their  founders,  or  as  developed  by  their 
disciples,  Confucianism  and  Buddhism  have  both 
been  weighed  in  the  balance  of  the  needs  of  humanity 
and  found  wanting. 

Their  doctrines  of  a  sort  of  Trinity,  their  personi- 
fication of  abstract  ideas,  their  ancestor  worship, 
their  bare  code  of  ethics,  are  not  made  to  fit  the  prob- 
lems of  life  and  death,  where  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, with  its  sorrows  and  labors,  crushes  the  weary 
and  heavy-laden  to  the  ground,  with  no  help  or  hope 
save  the  cold  command  to  obey  the  law,  the  ques- 
tionable peace  of  nothingness,  or  the  heaven  of 
latter-day  Buddhism.  True  there  is  Amitabha  and 
Kwanyin,  with  their  doctrine  of  salvation  by  a  kind 
of  faith,  but  it  should  be  carefully  marked,  this  is 
not  a  regeneration  of  the  man  in  this  world,  nor  a 
salvation  from  sin  in  its  guilt  and  power,  but  only 
from  its  punishment  in  the  world  to  come. 

Amitabha  and  Kwanyin,  there  is  good  reason  to 
suspect,  are  imitations ;  but  if  so,  they  are  very  clumsy 
ones,  their  doctrine  making  it  quite  comfortable 
and  easy,  while  willingly  guilty  of  the  vilest  crimes, 
to  be  sure  of  winning  the  realms  of  the  blest.  Nei- 
ther of  these  gods  apparently  has  any  concern  as  to 
the  character  of  the  devotees,  their  only  business 
244 


A    COMPARISON 

and  interest  is  to  spare  from  just  punishment  those 
who  with  "much  speaking"  are  ever  pronouncing 
their  names.  We  search  in  vain  among  the  books 
of  these  cults  for  a  lofty  ideal,  for  even  a  faint  outline 
of  the  visage  of  a  god  before  whom  a  human  soul 
may  prostrate  itself  in  absolute  reverence  and  ado- 
ration. 

There  are  those  who  assert'  that  Satan  loves  to 
caricature  Christianity,  and  we  see  especially  in 
Buddhism  many  doctrines  to  countenance  this 
theory;  but  whether  this  is  true  or  not,  we  discern 
in  it  many  points  of  rude  resemblance  amounting  to 
caricature,  but  nothing  more.  The  theism  of  the 
world  is  a  hollow  cruel  mockery  or  a  cold  distant 
abstraction. 

Let  us  turn  now  from  the  shadows  to  "the  Light 
of  the  world."  The  theism  of  the  Scriptures  is  mono- 
theistic i?t  the  strictest  sense.  There  are  those  who 
state  definitely  from  their  study  of  history  that  Jews, 
Mohammedans,  and  Christians  are  the  only  mono- 
theists,  and  that  the  idea  of  the  exclusive  sovereignty 
of  God  has  existed  solely  and  only  among  those  who 
have  received  a  divine  revelation.  Of  course  there 
are  some  who,  using  the  word  "monotheism"  in 
its  looser  sense,  have  thought  that  they  had  found 
other  purely  monotheistic  peoples,  but  these  have 
generally  been  proven  to  be  henotheistic.  While 
we  have  suggested  that  in  the  most  primitive  times 

245 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

the  peoples  of  Korea  and  China  were  monotheists, 
we  have  not  claimed  that  they  gained  this  without 
some  form  of  revelation,  but  rather  lean  to  the  belief 
that  this  was  a  remnant  of  the  still  more  ancient  times 
when  God  Himself  made  personal  direct  revelations 
to  the  fathers  of  the  race,  walked  with  Enoch  and 
talked  as  friend  to  friend  with  Abraham,  and  these 
early  beliefs,  let  us  suggest,  are  possibly  planks  cast 
upon  the  high  land  of  the  ages  from  the  flood. 

Even  though  these  most  ancient  faiths  were  purely 
monotheistic,  they  early  retrograded,  and  the  form 
in  which  we  have  them  as  received  with  any  definite- 
ness  is  that  of  a  henotheism,  but  their  retrogression 
was  matched  by  that  mentioned  in  the  Bible  itself, 
of  the  nations  who  denied  God.  This  possible 
earliest  monotheism  in  no  way  militates  against 
the  proposition  laid  down,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
unity  of  God  has  come  only  from  revelation. 

The  latest  decisions  of  science  lead  directly  to 
theism,  and  we  find  it  definitely  stated  that  the 
only  theism  that  science  will  admit  is  monotheism, 
and  I  wish  to  call  attention  at  this  time  to  what 
Dr.  Orr  has  well  said,  "That  this  truth  preached 
as  a  last  result  of  science,  and  of  the  philosophy 
of  evolution,  is  the  first  truth  of  Biblical  religion." 

Perhaps  it  will  be  said  that  here  is  a  proof  that 
the  highest  development  of  evolution  leads  to  mono- 
theism, but  strange  to  say,  this  has  only  occurred  in 
246 


A    COMPARISON 

lands  where  monotheism  was  already  acknowledged, 
and  is  not  so  much  the  evolution  of  a  doctrine,  as 
the  acknowledgment  of  a  truth  already  offered  by 
divine  revelation. 

This  stands  in  marked  contrast  with  the  poly- 
theisms of  these  three  countries.  There  is  a  tendency 
in  Japan  and  other  parts  of  Asia,  brought  about  even 
by  the  study  of  the  sciences,  that  is  leading  men  more 
and  more  to  see  the  unity  of  the  race  and  of  the 
universe,  and  to  realize  how  the  monotheistic  teach- 
ings of  the  Scriptures  are  the  only  ones  which  in  any 
way  adequately  explain  this. 

The  second  important  postulate  that  we  would 
offer  with  regard  to  Scripture  theism  is,  that  this 
one  God  reveals  Himself  in  a  definite  way  to  the  world. 
He  has  shown  Himself  in  nature,  through  special 
revelations  to  prophets  and  apostles,  and  more 
especially  through  the  life  and  teachings  of  His  Son. 
Of  course  the  revelation  of  Himself  through  nature 
may  be  read  in  part  by  all  men,  so  that  they  are 
enabled  to  apprehend  God,  but  in  His  fulness  He 
is  revealed  only  through  this  written  revelation,  and 
from  His  works  a  true  apprehension  of  all  His  attri- 
butes can  come  only  with  the  assistance  of  this 
revealed  word.  This  written  revelation  is  in  strong 
contrast  to  the  heathen  writings  even  in  the  point 
of  alleged  authority,  and  the  revelation  itself  is  with- 
out their  uncertainties. 

247 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Here  is  given  us  a  law  and  rule,  a  "thus  saith 
the  Lord, "  and  while  commentators  and  preachers, 
priests  and  monks,  may  at  times  read  into  it  things 
that  are  not  there,  or  out  of  it  doctrines  that  it  con- 
tains, it  stands  as  the  final  court  of  appeal  to  which 
the  Christian  can  go.  While  there  are  books  which 
we  may  call  the  Chinese  scriptures,  they  are  only  the 
classics  of  Confucius,  and  never  claimed  to  carry 
such  authority  as  does  the  Word  of  God.  What  have 
been  termed  the  Japanese  Bible,  the  Nihongi  and  the 
Kojiki,  make  no  such  claim,  and  purport  to  be  simply 
historical  annals  of  the  earliest  times,  their  style  and 
character  such  as  will  not  bear  printing.  The 
Buddhistic  writings,  in  the  same  way,  have  never 
made  a  similar  claim ;  they  are  but  attempts  to  solve 
the  great  problem  of  existence,  and  in  them  all  the 
"thus  saith  the  Lord"  is  lacking. 

When  it  comes  to  the  attributes  of  the  God  of 
the  Bible,  we  can  hardly  do  much  better  than  recall 
the  definition  given  in  the  much-berated  Shorter 
Catechism,  "God  is  a  Spirit,  infinite,  eternal,  and 
unchangeable  in  His  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness, 
justice,  goodness,  and  truth." 

Peoples  such  as  the  Asiatics,  with  the  amount  of 
intellectual  development  attained,  are  ready  to  ac- 
knowledge that  such  a  God  must  be  a  spirit.  In 
their  own  worship,  with  the  exception  of  some  among 
the  more  vulgar  and  uneducated,  they  have  generally 
248 


A    COMPARISON 

acknowledged  that  the  gods  they  serve  are  spiritual 
and  not  material,  having  in  many  of  their  Japanese 
temples,  as  we  saw,  no  idols  at  all  —  simply  the  spirit 
tablets.     Here,  then,  we  find  a  point  of  contact. 

But  in  this  connection  we  should  note.  Christian 
theism  teaches  that  man,  being  the  offspring  of 
God,  is  also  a  spirit,  that  he  may  discern  and  wor- 
ship this  God-spirit,  and  that  in  so  doing  he  must 
worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.  This  element 
of  Christian  theism  brings  out  a  spirituality  that 
stands  in  decided  contrast  to  the  gross  materialism 
and  sensuality  in  the  worship  of  these  religions ;  for 
it  teaches  that  this  God  does  not  dwell  in  houses 
made  by  hands,  does  not  need  pictures  and  images 
by  which  to  manifest  Himself,  that  His  true  temple 
is  the  heart  of  man,  and  that  if  man's  heart  is  only 
pure  and  he  is  holy,  God  Himself  will  dwell  within 
him. 

Such  a  conception  is  entirely  unknown  in  any  one 
of  the  religions  that  we  have  had  under  considera- 
tion. There  was  in  Buddhism  a  Nirvana,  into  which 
absolute  impersonality  man  was  to  be  absorbed  and 
lose  all  individuality.  Even  this  was  definitely  as- 
serted not  to  be  God ;  and  absolutely  no  such  thought 
as  the  divine  God  dwelling  in  man  was  ever  conceived. 

Of  course  in  their  polytheistic  conception  there 
are  spirits  both  good  and  bad,  and  personifying  ab- 
stract qualities,  as  we  noted :  there  are  special  deities 
249 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

of  the  good  and  bad  qualities,  but  the  theism  of  the 
Scripture  represents  one  personal  God  combining 
in  Himself  all  that  they  have  dreamed  in  their  highest 
ideals,  with  nothing  of  the  evil  which  they  have 
personified  in  their  grosser  deities;  higher  than  the 
heavens  beyond  their  ken  and  yet  "  closer  than  think- 
ing or  breathing "  to  every  humble  believer  who, 
in  accordance  with  the  doctrines  of  this  theism,  can 
be  taught  by  this  divine  power  to  comprehend  with 
all  saints  what  is  the  length  and  breadth  and  height, 
and  to  know  —  yea,  rather  to  be  himself  "filled  with 
all  the  fulness  of  God." 

Holiness  as  an  attribute  of  deity  was  hinted  at  in 
their  own  faith,  but  they  fell  far  short  of  the  scriptural 
idea.  In  their  approaches  to  the  temples,  and  es- 
pecially to  the  worship  of  the  Heavens,  cleanliness  was 
insisted  on,  but  it  was  largely  outward  ceremonial 
cleanliness.  It  may  be  said  that  this  implied  the 
need  of  heart-cleanliness,  but  their  statements  of  the 
actions  of  their  gods  show  how  far  they  had  wandered 
from  the  pure  holiness  of  the  one  God  revealed  in 
the  Scripture. 

Right  here  is  one  of  the  greatest  deficiencies  of 
their  system;  for  with  a  low  idea  of  God  comes 
naturally  a  low  idea  of  man,  and  with  a  God  to  be 
served  who  will  himself  stoop  to  wrong-doing,  what 
can  be  expected  of  those  who  revere  and  worship 
him? 

250 


A    COMPARISON 

The  God  of  the  Bible  is  a  pure  and  holy  God, 
is  one  in  whom  is  no  evil ;  all  His  ways  are  righteous ; 
all  His  acts  are  perfect.  Holiness  is  His  diadem! 
What  a  contrast  to  the  mythological  lives  of  Asiatic 
deities !  Without  this  divine  quality  in  the  one  God, 
what  are  all  other  attributes.  In  the  Asiatic  con- 
cepts these  gods  can  talk  and  act  toward  each  other 
after  a  fashion,  not  merely  foolish  and  vulgar,  but 
absolutely  disgusting.  Read  the  Nihongi  or  the 
Kojiki,  talk  with  the  Taoist  in  regard  to  the  sort  of 
conduct  possible  in  his  gods,  and  you  will  soon  realize 
how  holiness  as  a  necessary  attribute  of  the  deity 
is  unknown  to  them. 

Read  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  however,  study 
the  ritual  and  ceremonies  of  the  Jews,  read  of  the 
awful  thunders  from  Sinai,  behold  where  Moses 
removes  his  shoes  because  the  very  ground  upon 
which  he  stands  in  speech  with  this  God  is  holy, 
and  see  how  in  every  picture,  every  line  of  the  book 
which  tells  of  Him,  in  every  type,  in  the  very  con- 
struction of  the  temple,  in  the  robes  of  the  priests, 
is  written,  "Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God  Almighty." 

Glancing  again  at  their  concept,  we  find,  of  course, 
justice  ascribed  to  their  god  of  justice,  but  it  is  a 
quality  quite  unknown  in  their  other  deities,  al- 
though we  do  find  it  in  China  and  Korea  as  an  attri- 
bute of  the  supreme  God,  the  one  of  their  primitive 
worship,  this  exception  perhaps  throwing  another 
251 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

side-light  on  the  probability  of  our  hypothesis  of  the 
divine  origin  of  this  worship.  This  ascription  of 
justice  to  their  supreme  god  has  helped  to  maintain 
to  some  extent  a  high  theistic  concept,  but  it  has 
failed  to  accomplish  what  it  might  and  would,  had 
this  god  with  such  an  attribute  been  their  only  deity. 
The  supreme  God  was  so  far  off,  could  be  approached 
only  by  the  emperor;  or  even  if  the  people,  as  in 
Korea,  could  offer  up  their  petitions  to  him,  it  was 
in  the  main  done  only  when  under  great  stress  of 
circumstances,  so  that,  though  his  justice  was  ac- 
knowledged, the  acknowledgment  did  not  have  the 
effect  on  the  life  of  the  people  that  it  otherwise  might 
have  had. 

In  addition,  we  would  notice  preeminently  the 
fact  that  the  Christian  theism  represents  God  as  a 
loving  father.  Such  a  thought  seems  to  be  absolutely 
unknown  in  these  lands.  One  of  the  surprises  that 
have  come  home  to  the  people  has  been  the  idea 
that  God  loves  men.  Of  course  in  the  worship  of 
Kwanyin,  we  find  the  idea  of  compassion  and  of 
mercy  when  appealed  to,  but  there  is  scarcely  the 
faintest  suggestion  of  real  love  exercised  toward  man. 
The  Christian  concept,  on  the  other  hand,  presents  us 
a  God  who  is  seeking  the  good  of  mankind,  who  is 
standing  beside  the  fallen  and  raising  them  up. 
Everywhere  it  is  a  loving  Father  anxious  for  the 
good  of  His  children.  So  anxious  is  He  that  He  is 
253 


A    COMPARISON 

shown  as  sacrificing  His  only  begotten  Son  for  man. 
This  is  a  thought  that  seizes  hold  of  men  every- 
where. This  picture  of  God  the  Father  giving  up 
his  only  Son  is  that  which  demonstrates  one  of  the 
most  startling  attributes  of  the  God  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  This  is  the  doctrine  hardest  to 
get  men  to  grasp,  and  yet  when  they  do  grasp  it, 
it  is  a  vitalizing  principle,  uplifting  and  purifying 
spirit  and  conduct. 

This  God  is  not  only  represented  as  loving  His 
children,  but  as  asking  their  love  in  return.  When 
in  Korea  we  first  translated  the  summary  of  the  ten 
Commandments,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  with  all 
thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength,"  we  were  told 
that  we  did  not  know  Korean,  that  one  could  not 
love  God.  One  could  honor  Him  and  revere  Him, 
but  as  to  loving  Him,  this  was  not  possible.  Their 
supreme  god  was  so  distant,  so  immensely  above 
mankind,  that  such  an  idea  as  a  mere  mortal  loving 
him  was  inconceivable;  the  relationship  between 
god  and  man  could  not  be  such  as  to  admit  of  such 
a  thought.  Their  belief  when  correcting  us  was  not 
for  a  moment  that  we  had  brought  to  Korea  a  new 
light  upon  the  relationship  between  God  and  man, 
but  that  we  simply  did  not  understand  the  idea  con- 
tained in  the  Korean  word  love.  It  was  perfectly 
proper  to  conceive  of  God  loving  man  and  no  violence 

253 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

done  to  the  word,  but  in  their  thought  the  Supreme 
God  was  too  high  and  far  removed  in  awful  majesty 
to  be  loved.  As  for  their  other  gods,  no  one  would 
ever  dream  either  of  loving  or  being  loved  by  them; 
it  is  enough  to  avert  their  ire  or  win  their  transient 
favor  with  costly  offerings. 

A  God  yearning  over  men  was  also  something 
almost  unthinkable,  and  yet  this  is  what  the  Bible 
plainly  describes;  it  paints  in  unmistakable  colors 
and  almost  unnumbered  repetitions  the  sacrificial 
love  of  the  Eternal.  He  calls  His  children  to  return 
to  Him,  He  wooes  them  by  every  tenderest  term,  He  is 
pictured  as  a  shepherd  seeking  his  lost  sheep ,  as  the 
father  waiting  and  watching  for  the  return  of  the 
prodigal,  as  the  husband  welcoming  back  with  open 
arms  an  unfaithful  wife. 

But  the  divine  nature  as  revealed  in  the  person  of 
Christ  is  what  really  shows  the  wonderful  contrast 
between  their  concepts  of  deity  and  this.  The  thought 
of  incarnation  does  not  in  any  way  surprise  the 
Oriental,  but  when  he  sees  God  in  Christ  and  reads 
that  story  —  love  and  self-sacrifice  the  all-controlling 
mainspring  of  His  every  thought  and  action  — 
sacrifice  of  the  higher  for  the  lower  to  the  point  of 
life  itself,  even  dying  for  His  people,  —  and  finds 
that  this  was  the  Almighty  Creator,  a  light  breaks 
upon  his  darkness  and  his  whole  being  prostrates 
itself  in  adoration  of  what  he  sees  it  possible  for  a 
254 


A    COMPARISON 

God  to  be;    he  is  entranced,  wondering,  only  half 
comprehending,  but  adoring. 

The  rude  outlines  of  a  Trinity  we  have  seen  in 
both  Taoism  and  Buddhism,  and  in  fact  this  thought 
has  been  manifest  in  many  religions.  Their  possible 
common  origin  we  have  not  time  or  space  to  study 
or  argue.  God  reveals  Himself  more  and  more 
fully  as  we  are  able  to  bear  His  light,  in  case  of  the 
individual,  the  nation,  and  the  world,  and  so  we  find 
the  idea  of  the  Trinity  in  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit 
coming  more  and  more  clearly  into  view  as  we  pro- 
ceed from  the  times  of  the  Pentateuch  to  the  prophets, 
and  from  the  prophets  to  Christ,  reaching  its  clearest 
and  most  definite  presentation  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  pictured  so  unmistakably  that  he  who 
runs  may  read  in  the  scene  at  the  Jordan  where  the 
Father  speaks  from  heaven,  while  the  Son  receives 
the  Spirit  in  the  significant  form  of  a  dove. 

This  Tri-unity,  so  distinctly  taught  in  the  New 
Testament,  was,  as  I  have  just  said,  foreshadowed 
in  the  Old;  and  although  not  fully  comprehended 
or  even  realized  by  the  Jews,  when  once  stated,  is 
plainly  seen  even  from  the  creation,  in  type  and 
symbol,  in  ceremonial  and  providence,  in  rapture  of 
prophets  and  song  of  bard,  all  down  the  history  of 
the  chosen  people.  God  the  Father  in  His  love  for 
the  world  manifests  Himself  in  the  divine  person, 
God   the   Son,   and    through    His  divine    Teacher 

255 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

enlightens  and  explains  the  Word,  three  distinct  per- 
sonalities, and  yet  one  God,  a  Tri-unity. 

This  is  not  a  mere  mystery,  and  in  fact  there  have 
not  been  wanting  those  who  have  claimed  that  it  was 
absolutely  necessary.  Said  Martensen,  "  If  Christian 
dogmatics  had  not  asserted  and  developed  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  ethics  must  postulate  it  in 
its  own  interests."  Said  Professor  Laidlaw  in  his 
lectures  on  the  doctrine  of  man,  "This  doctrine  [of 
the  Trinity]  is  one  of  the  most  prolific  and  far-reach- 
ing among  the  discoveries  of  revelation;  it  is  the 
consummation  and  only  perfect  protection  of 
Theism."  Dr.  Orr  conceives  of  polytheism  as  almost 
a  search  in  the  dark  after  this,  claiming  that  it  is 
"the  concept  of  God  which  is  distinctively  the 
Christian  one,  and  which  furnishes  the  surest  safe- 
guard of  a  living  Theism  against  the  extremes  of 
both  pantheism  and  deism." 

The  heathen  so-called  trinities  referred  to  above 
are  not  really  such,  but  should  rather  be  called 
trifold  or  triplex  deities;  the  three  are  not  considered 
as  one,  though  the  nearest  approach  to  this  is  possibly 
the  Sam  Shin  of  China  and  Korea,  which  in  some 
localities  are  not  differentiated  or  worshipped  sepa- 
rately, but  even  here  there  is  no  real  conception 
of  tri-unity. 

Christianity  then  presents  to  the  world  a  God 
who  is  both  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  and  yet  these 
256 


A    COMPARISON 

three  as  absolutely  One.  There  is  seen  in  the  God- 
head, God  the  Father  guiding,  controlling,  directing 
the  world,  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  His  children, 
who  can  appeal  to  Him  at  all  times,  with  no  medium 
of  ceremonial  or  priest;  He  is  not  always  clearly 
discerned;  He  is  veiled  as  it  were  behind  clouds, 
though  His  omnipotence.  His  omniscience,  and  loving 
providence  are  plainly  and  unmistakably  taught: 
the  second  Person  of  the  Trinity,  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  God-man,  a  present  living  immanent  power 
to-day,  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  majesty,  inter- 
ceding for  and  succoring  his  people,  and  giving  to 
man  in  the  clearest  way  a  manifestation  of  the  true 
nature  of  God :  ^  the  Third  Person,  the  Holy  Spirit, 
a  regenerating  force,  a  power  to  enlighten  minds, 
change  lives,  reconstruct  character,  and  to  completely 
revolutionize  morally  and  socially  individuals,  com- 
munities, and  whole  nations,  —  a  Teacher  able  to 
open  the  deepest  spiritual  mysteries  to  the  human 
mind,  —  these  three.  Father,  Elder  Brother,  and 
Teacher,  form  one  God. 

The  vision  of  this  triune  Being  compels  the  ac- 
knowledgment of    the  heathen  that  their  previous 

^  The  power  of  the  concept  of  this  vital  presence  of  God  with 
the  humblest  believer  is  shown  in  the  reply  of  an  old  Korean 
peasant  woman,  who,  when  asked  where  Jesus  was,  replied,  "  I 
don't  know  where  He  may  be,  I  am  only  an  ignorant  old  woman, 
but  I  know  He  is  always  in  my  house."  Certainly  this  Second 
Person,  this  Jesus,  is  a  living  reality  to  the  native  Korean  Christian. 

s  257 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

light  was  but  darkness,  and  this  the  truth,  the  true 
light  answering  every  need  of  the  human  soul,  the 
complement  of  all  the  wants  of  human  nature. 

But  we  must  not  close  this  brief  synopsis  of  the 
theism  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  without  calling 
especial  attention  to  the  belief  contained  therein, 
that  it  is  possible  for  man  to  become  a  sharer  of  the 
God  nature,  to  become  as  it  were  a  God-man. 
This  is  not  by  any  apotheosis  of  emperors  or  priests, 
no  posthumous  honor  conferred  only  on  heroes, 
nor  any  monkish  enrolment  of  names  on  the  calendar 
of  the  saints,  but  a  possibility  of  the  humblest  be- 
liever, now,  in  this  life,  sharing  the  divine  nature. 
"To  as  many  as  received  Him  to  them  gave  He 
power  to  become  the  sons  of  God."  It  should  be 
noted  that  the  Scriptures  do  not  call  all  men  sons 
of  God,  but  in  a  peculiar  way  use  this  title  for 
those  who  have  been  "born  anew."  "Now  are  we 
the  sons  of  God,"  "we  are  his  offspring,"  "bear 
his  image,"  and  are  spoken  of  as  "partakers"  of 
His  nature. 

The  theism  of  the  Bible  presents  an  incarnation 
as  necessarily  antecedent  to  world  salvation,  but  it 
also  in  a  remarkable  way  pictures  reincarnation  as 
a  result  of  regeneration.  This  scriptural  idea  of  God 
Himself  abiding  in  man,  making  his  nature  holy,  is 
as  altogether  unique  in  the  theologies  of  the  world 
as  it  is  startling,  and  when  apprehended,  as  alas  it 
258 


A    COMPARISON 

is  too  seldom,  rivets  the  attention  of  thinking  men 
everywhere. 

These,  then,  are  some  of  the  salient  points  of 
Christian  theism.  Wherever  it  is  presented  we 
find  it  fitted  to  the  needs  of  the  human  heart  in  its 
sin,  its  sorrows,  its  weakness,  its  temptations,  its 
struggles  with  the  evils  of  life,  and  its  instinctive 
desire  to  worship.  To  all  these  needs  we  find  it 
fitted  as  the  key  to  the  lock.  And  wherever  this  God 
is  presented,  heathen  deities  must  fall. 

In  a  way,  however,  these  mistaken  religions  have 
helped  to  pave  the  highway  in  the  desert  for  our  God. 
When  the  Chinaman  whose  filial  devotion  has  been 
trained  through  long  ages  sees  in  Him  the  Great 
Father,  his  ancestral  worship  finds  its  highest  ful- 
filment in  adoring  Him.  When  he  learns  that  this 
greater  "Ti"  does  not  hold  aloof  from  the  needs  of 
His  people,  allowing  only  the  homage  of  emperors, 
but  that  "not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  without 
your  Father,"  and  that  "whosoever  cometh  unto  Him 
He  will  in  no  wise  cast  out,"  his  heart  responds  with 
an  "Abba,  Father." 

He  has  long  been  accustomed  to  the  hackneyed 
words  of  Confucius,  "All  within  the  four  seas  are 
brothers,"  but  when  he  learns  the  great  truth  of 
the  brotherhood  of  man  through  the  Eternal  Father, 
his  vision  widens,  and  he  easily  passes  from  the  lesser 
to  the  greater,  and  realizes  the  far-reaching  though 

259 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

probably  unintended  wisdom  of  the  words  enunciated 
by  the  sage. 

When  he  learns  that  there  is  help  from  the  woes  and 
ills  of  life,  not  in  the  charms  and  fetiches  of  priest 
and  monk,  but  that  One  has  said,  "Come  unto  me, 
all  ye  who  are  weary  and  heavy  laden,"  —  that  the 
Creator  Himself  cares  and  bends  an  ear  to  His  chil- 
dren's cry,  he  feels  at  once  how  right  and  fitting 
this  is,  and  how  poor  and  worse  than  useless  have 
been  the  makeshifts  of  the  past. 

The  Japanese  believe  that  they  are  the  descendants 
of  the  gods,  and  when  they  learn  that  there  is  a 
Being  infinite,  eternal,  unchangeable,  far  beyond 
the  sun-goddess  or  the  Bodhisattvas  or  Kwanyin 
or  Amitabha,  who  as  far  transcends  them  all  as  the 
noonday  sun  outshines  the  fleeting  "  Will  o'  the  wisp," 
and  that  even  He  is  ready  to  give  them  a  place  in 
His  household  as  sons  and  daughters,  and  gives  power 
to  as  many  as  receive  Him  to  become  sons  of  God, 
they  feel  that  they  have  risen  to  far  higher  rank  than 
any  to  which  their  Nihongi  had  ever  raised  them; 
and  as  they  learn  more  and  more  of  the  lofty  char- 
acter of  Him  whose  offspring  they  may  be,  and  that 
only  as  they  partake  of  His  nature  are  they  worthy 
to  bear  that  name,  it  lifts  them  at  once  to  higher 
ideals  and  nobler  aims. 

This  God,  as  the  Maker  of  Nature,  whose  "touch 
is  on  all  things  fair  and  beautiful,"  wins  them  from 
260 


A    COMPARISON 

their  low  ideals  of  nature  worship;  and  when  they, 
whose  hearts  and  fondest  devotion  are  expended 
lavishly  for  their  country,  find  here  too  a  King 
whose  service  is  glory,  honor,  immortah'ty,  and  eternal 
life,  they  joyfully  realize  that  to  become  a  subject 
of  such  a  king,  a  citizen  of  such  a  country,  is  the  only 
aim  worth  living  for. 

When  the  Korean  with  his  worship  of  the  Heavens 
and  his  strong  filial  devotion,  combined  neverthe- 
less with  his  hourly  dread  of  the  powers  of  the  air, 
learns  that  the  "Great  One,"  whom  he  has  never 
ceased  to  revere,  is  not  only  supreme,  but  alone, 
and  that  these  lower  lesser  evil  powers,  the  objects 
of  his  life-long  dread,  are  the  mere  creatures  of  his 
imagination,  that  the  only  God  who  exists  is  one  of 
love,  wisdom,  justice,  and  truth,  he  is  ready  to  give 
undivided  allegiance  to  Him. 

When  he,  standing  by  his  simple  altars,  where, 
with  neither  image  or  spirit  tablet,  his  fathers  have 
for  generations  worshipped  the  God  of  Heaven, 
learns  that  God  is  a  spirit,  and  that  they  who  wor- 
ship Him  must  do  so  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  he 
believes  this  is  the  God  of  his  fathers.  When  still 
further  he  peruses  his  oldest  histories,  and  reads  that 
his  most  ancient  king  Tangun  had  built  an  altar  in 
Kangwha,  and  there  worshipped  his  "father  God," 
"the  Creator,"  he  is  more  than  ready  to  say,  "This 
and  no  other  shall  be  our  God." 
261 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

This  study,  then,  of  the  theistic  conceptions 
obtaining  in  China,  Japan,  and  Korea  as  compared 
with  that  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  will,  I 
believe,  have  led  us  to  the  place  where  we  can  better 
appreciate  the  view-point  of  these  people,  but  at  the 
same  time  has  clearly  demonstrated  both  the  inability 
of  their  existing  systems  to  give  the  highest  ideals 
of  deity,  as  well  as  the  absolute  insufficiency  of  their 
religions  and  philosophies  either  to  solve  the  problems 
of  life,  or  to  provide  for  the  crying  needs  of  man's 
nature;  and  at  the  same  time  have  we  not  also 
learned  that  the  theism  contained  in  what  we  call 
the  Scriptures  is  not  only  able  intelligently  to  an- 
swer the  queries  of  existence  and  the  wants  of  hu- 
manity, but  that  this  is  the  only  one  of  them  that 
will  do  so  ?  A  further  study  of  other  religions  must, 
I  think,  fairly  convince  all  who  are  unprejudiced 
that  this  is  the  only  one  of  all  existing  systems  that 
will  accomplish  completely  such  an  end. 

Sin-burdened  souls  under  the  pagan  system  at  their 
best  have  cried  with  Moses,  "I  exceedingly  fear  and 
quake,  but  we  are  come  unto  Mt.  Zion  and  unto  the 
city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  — 
and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the  new  covenant,  and 
to  the  blood  of  sprinkling  that  speaketh  better  things 
than  that  of  Abel." 


262 


A    COMPARISON 


APPENDIX  TO   LECTURE   VI 

Speaking  of  the  Far  East,  Dr.  Faber,  a  lifelong 
student,  said:  "China  at  the  present  time  is  drawing 
the  attention  of  other  nations  to  herself  in  a  marked 
manner.  Already  there  is  in  process  of  development 
a  Far-Eastern  Question  that  will  soon  surpass  in  im- 
portance the  present  Eastern  Question.  It  is  very 
noteworthy  that  in  both  cases  Russia  forms  the  axle 
upon  which  revolves  the  wheel  of  events.  Besides  this, 
in  the  Far  East,  as  in  nearer  Asia,  Mohametanism 
is  the  motive  element  which  tends  to  bring  about  the 
final  crisis.  Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves  about  the 
sick  man.  We  must  clearly  distinguish  between 
Mohametanism  and  the  Turkish  Empire.  Turkey 
may  perish;  Mohametanism,  mightier  than  it  has  been 
for  a  hundred  years,  is  now  steadily  advancing  through- 
out Africa  and  Asia.  A  spark  may  cause  the  explosion 
of  its  dynamite-like  fanaticism,  terribly  shatter  the 
dominion  of  England  in  India,  place  the  possessions 
of  Holland  in  peril,  cost  the  lives  of  innumerable 
Christians,  and  subjugate  at  least  all  Asia  and  Africa 
to  the  Crescent.  Mohametanism  is  a  Great  Power, 
not  owing  to  a  national  principle,  for  it  is  international ; 
not  owing  to  material  interests  —  it  is  the  power  of 
Faith  which  inspires  it,  whereby  it  binds  together 
savage  and  inimical  tribes.  Monotheism  is  the  truth 
upon  which  Islam  stands,  and  fatalism  the  two-edged 
sword  in  its  hand.  We  see  in  it  the  antichristian  bit- 
terness of  Judaism  re-aroused,  and  embued  with 
greater  power  than  of  old.  Fixed  monotheism  has  yet 
its  mission  in  the  world,  so  long  as  polytheism  exists. 

263 


RELIGIONS    OF    EASTERN    ASIA 

Mohametan  fanaticism  serves  as  the  scourge  of  God, 
whose  corrective  task  cannot  be  entirely  completed 
whilst  in  the  presence  of  a  degenerate  Christendom, 
paralyzed  amidst  its  eternal  forms,  dragging  on  its 
existence  without  inner  spiritual  life,  and  offering, 
as  of  old  under  Byzantine  rule,  a  Christianized 
heathenism,  earthy  and  sensuous."  —  "Mind  of  Men- 
cius,"  p.  I. 


264 


INDEX 


Agatamori,  91. 
Altars,  Chinese,  160. 

Korean,  100  fif.,  107,  109, 115  fif., 
119,  168. 
Amida,     Amitabha,     207,     218, 

222  f.,  244. 
Ancestor  worship,  Chinese,  163  ff. 
Japanese,  44  f. 
Korean,  114,  130,  169  f. 
Apotheosis,  of  Confucius,  160  ff., 
177  f. 
of  emperors,  32,  45  fif. 
of  Lao-tsze,  38  f. 
Aston,  G.  W.,  cited,  45,  49,  57  f., 
64,  76  ff.,  86  f.,  89  fif. 

B 

Beal,  S.,  cited,  196,  198,  227. 
Bishop,  I.  B.,  cited,  139  f. 
Buddha,  life  of,  185  fif.,  192. 
Buddhism,  contradictions  of,  224. 

efifects  of,  on  Taoism,  34,  36. 

eightfold  path  of,  188  f. 

ethics  of,  201  f.,  213. 

four  truths  of,  187  f. 

idolatry  of,  190  fif. 

in  China,  194  ff.,  211. 

in   Japan,   43,   66  fif.,    171   f., 
219  ff. 

in  Korea,  95  fif.,  215  ff. 

the  soul  in,  199  f. 

theism  of,  202  ff. 

three  schools  of,  208  fif. 


Chaiso,  105. 

Chamberlain,  B.  H.,  cited,  54  f. 

China,  altars  in,  160. 

Buddhism  in,  194  ff.,  211. 


deities  in  32,  33. 

language  of,  4  f. 

literature  of,  in  Japan,  43. 

materialism  in,   32  f.,   36  f. 

monotheism  primitive  in,  7, 12, 
16,  32. 

prayer  in,  10  f.,  160  f. 

religion  in,  37  f.,   148,  238  ff. 

spirits  in,  14. 
Confucianism,  aims  of,  211  f. 

defects  of,  180  fif. 

in  Japan,  171  ff. 

in  Korea,  66  ff.,  178. 

modern,  153  fif. 

modified  by  Shinto,  174  ff. 

protest    against    spiritism,     3, 
152. 

Taoist  assault  on,  34. 
Confucius,  agnosticism  of,  151  ff., 
177. 

contemporary  of   Lao-tsze,    2, 
19  f. 

life  of,  146  f. 

literary  work  of,  149  ff. 

not  an  innovator,  3. 

teachings  of,  145  ff. 

worship  of,  160  ff.,  177  f. 
Cosmology,  Japanese,  55  ff. 
Courant,  M.,  97,  99. 

D 

Deities,    lesser,  development   of, 

32- 
Japanese,  45  f.,  47,  49,  50,  59, 

62  ff. 
Korean,  100  ff. 
Dharma,  189  ff. 
Dolmens,  101  f. 
Douglas,  R.  K.,  cited,  8,  9,  18  f., 

23  f-.  33  ff-.  147- 
Dragon,  90  f.,  121  f.,  135. 


265 


INDEX 


Eschatology,  Buddhist,  200  f. 

Japanese,  76  ff. 

Taoist,  36. 
Ethics,  Chinese,  26,  i4S  2->  237- 

Japanese,  46,  54,  69  S.,  76  ff. 

of  Lao-tsze,  26  f. 
Evolution,    related    to    religion, 

231  ff. 
Exorcism,  125  f. 


Faber,  E.,  cited,  158,  363  f. 
Five-Point  General,  112. 
Futsunushi,  49. 


Gale,  J.  S.,  99. 

Gautama,  see  Buddha. 

Giles,  H.  A.,  cited,  2,  9,  19  ff- 

Griffis,  W.  E.,  cited,  43.  5^  f-.  56, 

63,   70  f.,   78  f-.   87  f-.   171. 

174    f.,    207,    220,    224. 
Gulick,  S.,  cited,  44  U  8°  f- 

H 

Hananim,  109  ff.,  121,  132,  169  f. 
Heaven,  Chinese  term,  5  f. 

worship  of,  iS3.  ^S^  f-.  164  f- 

Korean  worship  of,  100  f.,  104, 
106,  109  ff.,  115  ff- 

in  Tao-Teh-King,  25. 
Henotheism,  defined,  8. 

in  Korea,  104,  132- 
Hirata,  43  f-.  ^7.  74- 
Hiyeda  Are,  53. 
Hong  Sal  Moun,  70,  116. 
Hulbert,    H.    B.,    cited,    100    f., 
no  £.,  113  i;  135  ff-.  141  f- 


Izanagi,  57  ff-.  59  ff- 
Izanami,  57  ff. 


J 

Japan,  cosmology  of,  55  ff- 
ethics  in,  46,  76. 
human   sacrifice   in,  75, 


literature  in,  42,   48. 

nature  worship  in,  45. 

religion  in,  240  ff. 

ritual  in,  74- 

sin,  not  native  conception,  82. 

writing  in,' 42. 
Jehovah,       in      Tao-Teh-King, 

28  ff. 
Jewel  Spear  of  Heaven,  58. 
Jimmu  Tenno,  61. 


Kami,  50,  56,  87  f. 

Knox,   G.  W.,  cited,  41,  44  ff-. 

76,  156  f.,  162  f.,  229  f. 
Kojiki,  42,  51  ff- 
Korea,  altars  in,  100  ff.,  107,  109, 
115  ff.,  119  ff- 

Confucianism  in,  167  ff. 

dolmens  in,  lor  f. 

Five-Point  General  in,  112. 

Hananim  in,  see  Hananim. 

literature  in,  96  ff. 

miraculous  birth  in,  104,  135  ff. 

monotheism  in,  106,  131. 

nature  worship  in,  112  ff. 

polytheism  in,  113. 

printing  in,  97  f. 

religion  in,  242  ff. 

sacrifice  in,  120. 

Sam  Shin  in,  in. 

Shamanism  in,  93  ff. 

spirit  worship  in,  103  ff.,  133. 

three  religions  in,  94  ff- 

worship  of  Heaven  in,   100  f., 
106,  109  ff.,  115  ff-.  121.  132. 
Kumi,  47- 
Kwanyin,  205  ff.,  218,  222,  244- 


Lao-tsze,  2,  18  ff.,  24,  27,  31  f., 

38  f.,  148. 
Legge,  J.,  cited,  2  f.,  5  ff.,  10  ff., 

24  f.,  29,  108,  143  f-.  147  f-. 

162. 

M 


1  Martin,  W.  A.  P.,  cited, 
89  ff.  1  27  ff.,  38.  157- 

266 


14  ff. 


INDEX 


Mcncius,  20,  155. 
Metempsychosis,  198. 
Mikado,  45  £f.,  162. 
Miraculous  birth,  104,  135  ff. 
Miyadsu,  55. 
Monolatry  defined,  8. 
Monotheism,    7   f.,   38,   86,    106, 

131,  235  ff- 
Motoori,  43  f.,  57,  67. 
Mutang,    93   S.,    118   f.,    124   f., 

127  S.,  141  ff. 
Myriok,  102  f.,  131. 
Mythology,  54  ff.,  62. 

N 

Nature  worship,  45,  47,  49i  93  ff-. 

112  ff. 
Nihongi,  42,  55  ff. 
Ninigi,  49. 
Nirvana,  187  ff.,  198  ff.,  202. 


Pansu,  93,  118  f.,  123  ff.,  141  ff. 
Phallicism,  69,  70  f. 
Polytheism,  48  f.,  65,   113,   132, 

148. 
Prayer,  10  f.,  63,  73  ff.,  160  f. 
Purification,  73  f. 


Rhys  Davids,  T.  W.,  cited,  187  f., 
197  f.,  202. 


Sacrifice,  human,  in  Japan,   75, 
89  ff. 

in  Korea,  122. 

in  China,  161  f. 
Sangha,  189  ff. 

Sang-Ti,  6,  8  ff.,  14  ff.,  158,  213. 
Shamanism,  93  ff. 
Shintoism,  affected  by  Buddhism, 
43.  66  ff. 

defects  of,  86  ff. 

described,  41  ff. 


development  of,  51  ff. 

eschatology  of,  76  ff. 

excellences  of,  83. 

idols  of,  69  ff.,  73. 

immoralities  of,  54,  69  ff.,  78  f. 

modern,  69  ff. 

mythology  of,  54  ff. 

nationalism  of,  85,  173. 

supreme  deity  lacking,  50. 
Sin,  82,  86. 
Smallpox,  128  ff. 
Soul,  32,  76,   130.   164,   199  f. 
Spirits,  14,  32,  37,  103  ff.,  113  ff. 
Sun  goddess,  Japanese,  62  ff.,  72. 


Tangun,  105. 
Tao,  21  f.,  24  ff. 
Taoism,  basis  of,  21. 

character  of,  4,  32  f.,  36  f.,  39. 

date  of  origin,  2  f. 

eschatology  of,  36. 

ethics  of,  26,  237. 

golden  rule  in,  26. 

hierarchy  of,  34. 

immoralities  of,  36. 

in  Korea,  108. 

philosophy  of,  17  ff. 

strife  with  Confucianism,  34. 
Tao-Teh-King,  19,  21,  28  ff.,  42, 

108. 
Theism,  Christian,  245  ff. 
Theogony,  Japanese,  56  f.,  61. 
Tori,  70. 

Trinity,  in  Buddhism,  189,  192  f. 
204. 

in  Korea,  in,  244. 

in  Tao-Teh-King,  28  ff. 


W 


Wani,  42. 
Wanin,  105  f. 


Yamato-Take.  55. 
Yin  and  Yang,  57. 


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